[World War Z30]

Seeing as Android phones are all over price spectrum, BlackBerry should consider making a Z3/Leap phone that runs Android to consider the entry-level/enterprise customers who BlackBerry originally tried to entice with those phones.

I still rather have the Priv, but I know there will be a lot of people who will prefer a cheaper option.

Posted via BlackBerry Passport

[chenageddon]

What would be the point? You're not going to make much profit on the phone. You don't have any profitable accessories nor service to sell to these customers. Your volume and cost structure puts you at competitive disadvantage to practically every other smartphone company out there. All you would do is make CrackBerry people happy.

[tw1g_007]

No.

If you are too broke to afford the Priv, go for cheaper options elsewhere and like you said there's plenty.

 вιaсĸвεггч® ᕵαssρσяτ SE via CB10 (AT&T OS 10.3.2.2474)

[ToniCipriani]

Let's worry about whether the division will survive first before whether they will have follow-ups or more models.

[Jerlexis]

No.

If you are too broke to afford the Priv, go for cheaper options elsewhere and like you said there's plenty.

 вιaсĸвεггч® ᕵαssρσяτ SE via CB10 (AT&T OS 10.3.2.2474)

BlackBerry should use that slogan for the Priv. "If you can't afford it, FU."

[yhamaie]

Features to be changed ( downgraded) . . .


display - WQHD to Full HD / AMOLED to LCD

camera - lower resolution (still and movie)
image censor - Sony I MX230 to a cheaper alternative
lens - Schneider-Kreuznach certified to a cheaper alternative

cpu - Snapdragon 808 to a seasoned and slower chip

keyboard - touch sensitive to non-touch sensitive

Posted via CB10

[GP540]

Op we now have "Affordable devices" aka BlackBerry 10

In Squircle I Trust

[eldricho]

Wouldn't be that lucrative for BlackBerry at this point
Maybe in the future, if:
1) The Priv sells
2) The Priv hasn't been rooted
3) Their implementation of Android becomes an established and renowned version

Posted via CB10

[Justin Couto]

I've got more than enough money to get one, I'm still not comfortable with the price though.

Posted via CB10

[World War Z30]

I've got more than enough money to get one, I'm still not comfortable with the price though.

Posted via CB10

I am in the same boat, if it were $599 I would have no problem paying the taxes but at $799 it will not be fun.

Posted via BlackBerry Passport

[A_Aviator_A]

People on CB have been saying for years they want a high end slab...and when one comes, they think it'll be a discount phone and complain about price. I for one am glad that BB kept the pricing high, now that OS is not a competitive issu, why tarnish the brand further by becoming a discount handset maker? I for one do not think a cheaper droid phone is in Blackberry's interests, way too much competition in the mid-price handset space.

[th3h0ff]

The price seems relative to the product in this case. Your getting more / more advanced hardware than every other Android available. But to answer your question I believe the answer is YES. Scrapping some of the extras (capacitive keyboard, 1080 panel, good optics) for more affordable alternatives and also making a keyboard less version of the downgraded hardware. Here's my reasoning, I think people want to love bbry again... Most people's first foray with a smartphone was with a Blackberry and by creating an attractive handset(s) in the $250 to $400 range they increase brand awareness and exposure. Increased exposure leads to more people using the core software experience (HUB) and therefor more people likely to continue to buy into the brand and services that Chen wants the company to become.

[skibnik]

Blackberry should team up with MS and come out with an updated Sidekick! Make it a retro-cool design with midrange specs for those users who are more concerned with communication and smaller form factors.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...idekick_4G.jpg

[syraxes]

Seeing as Android phones are all over price spectrum, BlackBerry should consider making a Z3/Leap phone that runs Android to consider the entry-level/enterprise customers who BlackBerry originally tried to entice with those phones.

I still rather have the Priv, but I know there will be a lot of people who will prefer a cheaper option.

I would deffinitely like to see something like "Z10 running android" .

Currently I have a Q5 (and begin to get tired of it) but the new Priv is much more expensive than the price that I am willing to spend on a phone, regardless brand or operating system. I don't want "flagships".

I was curious to try a BB10 phone and i chose the Q5, but this was not a totally smooth experience: i liked the physical keyboard and it was interesting to try the BB10 operating system. However I dislike the total lack of Linux support (i'm talking about the desktop app for synchronizing data with phone) and inability to see the phone memory as usb drive. And it's also lacking certain applications : for example the gmail application (yes i know that gmail can be acessed with imap. I did configure it at some point but didn't like how it worked - for example couldn't use labels. I am currently accessing the email from the browser , not with bb hub). And I also want the google hangouts app .

As a result , for my next phone i'll go back to Android. It can't be Priv because it is too expensive, but maybe I would consider buying a more affordable alternative from Blackberry if they offer more Android models.

For me the news about blackberry+android=Priv was a nice surprise: i hope that it sells well and that Blackberry will be able to make more models. But I am not sure if I can wait for so long until deciding for a new phone ...

[Drenegade]

They want out of the hardware business. They can't compete against the current low to mid range android producers.

Their idea of a low range phone was the Leap and they still wanted too much for what it was - 4 year old technology with less features than the Z10.

Posted via CB10

[Granehill]

What's an affordable phone? A lagging Leap with Android:-)

Posted via CB10

[DolemiteDONS]

If they build an "affordable phone" there will be 1,000 threads complaining of BlackBerry's lower specs.

They are damned if they do, damned if they don't. BlackBerry can't win on this site, ironically.

[clutch]

If they build an "affordable phone" there will be 1,000 threads complaining of BlackBerry's lower specs.

They are damned if they do, damned if they don't. BlackBerry can't win on this site, ironically.

The problem is that it already is relatively lower spec at the current price point... increase the specs and ill happily pay the current asking price.

[Loc22]

In my opinion BlackBerry cannot build a lower price Android device. The reason is that the technology on the Priv is already obsolete & it's low spec's is just bear minimum. This does not give them room to build another device that can be sold at a lower price without killing the Priv.

The Priv should be at least a Snapdragon 815 processor or 2 to match the other Android devices out there making it an Octacore device. It should at least have 4GB RAM & it should have at least a 5 MP front camera.

The 32GB built in memory is already the lowest acceptable minimum standard these days.

So if you look at the situation how is BlackBerry to make a cheaper Android phone?

My conclusion is that BlackBerry is exiting the device market as it's not able to compete. Time to look at other Android devices.

Posted via CB10

[Ulferini Schusterotti]

My friend, we had more than enough of those "it should have had" threads. The most expensive phones don't have 4GB RAM, so why should BlackBerry have? And you really think that 32GB internal memory is the "lowest acceptable size"?! It's got a SDCARD slot, you know?

PRIVs specs are top noch but you're whining about it being "obsolete", funny.

The PRIV is worth the price since its industrial design is much more advanced and complicated since its no rectangular boring slab like every other phone these days.

The PRIV is the REAL flagship device!

Posted via CB10

[DJBS4LIFE]

In my opinion BlackBerry cannot build a lower price Android device. The reason is that the technology on the Priv is already obsolete & it's low spec's is just bear minimum. This does not give them room to build another device that can be sold at a lower price without killing the Priv.

The Priv should be at least a Snapdragon 815 processor or 2 to match the other Android devices out there making it an Octacore device. It should at least have 4GB RAM & it should have at least a 5 MP front camera.

The 32GB built in memory is already the lowest acceptable minimum standard these days.

So if you look at the situation how is BlackBerry to make a cheaper Android phone?

My conclusion is that BlackBerry is exiting the device market as it's not able to compete. Time to look at other Android devices.

Posted via CB10

Well said! People are only comparing the main specs but not mentioning all the other juicy details of this phone. Looking forward to my PRIV!

BBM Channel: C0001F285

[syraxes]

In my opinion BlackBerry cannot build a lower price Android device. The reason is that the technology on the Priv is already obsolete & it's low spec's is just bear minimum. This does not give them room to build another device that can be sold at a lower price without killing the Priv.

The Priv should be at least a Snapdragon 815 processor or 2 to match the other Android devices out there making it an Octacore device. It should at least have 4GB RAM & it should have at least a 5 MP front camera.

The 32GB built in memory is already the lowest acceptable minimum standard these days.

So if you look at the situation how is BlackBerry to make a cheaper Android phone?

My conclusion is that BlackBerry is exiting the device market as it's not able to compete. Time to look at other Android devices.

Posted via CB10

I don't think that those who are hoping to see a "cheaper model" are talking about some cheap phone costing less than 100$. .

In the past Blackberyy had : Z10 cheaper than Z30, Q5 cheaper than Q10. So there is nothing wrong in hoping to see also a cheaper 'brother' of the Priv.

If the Priv costs around 700-800$ I would certainly not be interested.
But I might be interested in an Blackberry-Android phone around 350-450$ that:
- has no physical keyboard
- has a cheaper camera lens/sensor
I would consider such a phone because of the brand. I would not care about the memory size (as long as there is a sd card slot). And I would not care about the exact number of camera megapixels.

It is possible that Blackberry wanted to launch only the Priv as first step, but they can't afford to delay too much announcing additional phone(s).

[BCITMike]

An updated Classic.

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

Keep in mind that the LG G4, with the same SnapDragon 808, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, UHD screen, but with better cameras and a few more features, (but, of course, not a BB and lacking the BB Experience Suite & alternative kernel) is already much less at $479 US.

There are phones that are priced like the LEAP that are 2-3 generations of hardware newer/better.

There just isn't any money for BB to make at the lower end, because BB simply can't be price-competitive with their lower sales volumes and their much higher R&D costs (developing the "extra security" isn't cheap, and neither will be keeping it all up-to-date all the time) - BB has to make a good chunk of profit from each phone they sell, unlike BB10 where they've been losing $100 on every phone sold.

I expect everyone here understands that BB phones are "different", and that they have extra security features that other phones don't have - well, BB has to develop those features, and that comes at a cost. Either those features are important enough for you to pay for, or they aren't, and you should buy something other than a BB.

There are always plenty of people who say "BB should build a flagship phone (or service) - I don't care what it costs" - but those folks always seem to disappear once a premium-priced device or service is actually released.

[grahamf]

I'm on the fence, but right now I'm thinking that Blackberry should keep it's handsets as high-end luxury devices and contract the Experience Suite to a different carrier for midrange/low end (maybe BLU or HTC?) With the Z5 and Q10, it's clear that Blackberry has a very hard time bring a device's price down without compromising it's fundamental beliefs about hardware quality.