[Techno-guy]

They are not committed to selling the Priv, they want out of hardware...I think we should start taking the hints.

[Iggy City]

Sony Xperia z5 will be $650 in Canada. Now that looks enticing.

You're very close to losing a lot of loyal customers BlackBerry (and without gaining any new ones)...really can't believe the mess they're creating.

[jlaros]

Yeah, I'm all about BlackBerry, I've been defending them for years! People always made fun of me for having a BlackBerry but then I would tell them otherwise, along the way I have switched 5 people from both android and apple. However, now that BB10 is dead and how they're butchering this PRIV launch I'm not even so sure anymore. It's kinda sad. For the first time ever I'm looking at other phones to replace my Z10 I've had since Feb 2013, hoping this PRIV was it but now I see how they're butchering it and the REDICULOUS price... I'm out....

What the hell BlackBerry! You lost a very loyal user!

Posted via CB10

[lnichols]

They are getting free press. Fortune is saying the pricing is insane. I mean come on people this is Blackberry. Chen has done nothing to promote the brand or rehab the brand image since coming on board. Did you really expect some super, and coherent marketing strategy with this device? I mean they are touting their securing of Android on the BES side of things as allowing business to use lower cost Android devices, and releasing an Android device with the worst spec to price ratio and highest pricing. You can tell from the message that the goal is to not stay in hardware as BlackBerry is incapable of releasing a low cost device with competitive specs. You can get an LG G4 for $479 right now, and it is basically the same device spec wise.

[dejanh]

snip...really can't believe the mess they're creating.

Neither can I to be honest. I've been a BlackBerry supporter for 10+ years now. I had all of their flagship devices since. I verbally supported their move to Android with the PRIV, recognizing that the BlackBerry 10 OS just isn't cutting it without apps, as awesome as it may be on its own. However, the lack-of-launch and the ludicrous price that they are charging in Canada and US is a clear indicator that the company is out of touch with reality. Just look at reddit from a few days ago when the price leaked, everyone who wanted the device said no-way and no-how if the price is as high as what was leaked. While marginally cheaper, this will make no difference. It should be no more than $599 USD and $799 CAD.

[crucial bbq]

Are you saying that, potentially, this pre-order move has been create for us CrackBerrians?

only time will tell, and I give you the benefit of the doubt, BUT, I also have to doubt the benefit of it, as a company point of view!

To add to what I posted above, the Priv is singlehandedly a first not only for BlackBerry but also for Android, Google, and diehards all around. It is entering new and untested territory for all and is surely a bigger deal than some may think.

BlackBerry injected PINs into the chips and employed Root of Trust making the Priv the first "compatible" Android handset that cannot be rooted (but we'll see how well that works out...).

The Priv is the first "compatible" Android that seems to be breaking OHA rules. For one, it is against OHA rules to prevent the ability to root. Well, in the past it was anyways. I put compatible between quotation marks because the BlackPhone 2 also has Play and AfW and that OS is surely not "Google compatible". BlackBerry also tweaked the kernel and to my knowledge are not making available those tweaks to the AOSP, which would have been the rule under OHA. But this is something that will remain to be seen.

This list goes on but my point is that the success or failure of the Priv will change the way other vendors do their phones. All handset manufacturers in the OHA have historically held back on tweaking the kernel/OS because doing would require them to contribute that code to the AOSP and they wanted to save them for their own individual proprietary tweaks once the OHA finally dissolved. That is why they give us skins and launchers on top of an otherwise stock OS. The Priv is going to be the litmus test to see if consumers are cool with a more "proprietary" experience or if they will cry for stock Android.

Then again there is the history of RIM/BlackBerry and the failure of BB10. On the one hand most of the world still thinks BlackBerry is dead and gone, so here a launch event would make sense. Then again there was a lot of hype around the launch of BB10 and look where took us.

My guess is that BlackBerry is playing it safe for the time being to see how things pan out. If pre-orders are high enough they might throw a more substantial event on or near Nov. 6th. If not and pre-orders are lowered than expected they remain in a position to allow it all to quietly slip away unnoticed for the most part (outside of diehards).

Then again I do not recall one phone in recent history that came up out of nowhere and has received as much press as the Priv has. It has got to be the most talked about phone outside of the iPhone over the last five years in the least. So another way to look at it: the launch party has been on-going.

Besides, they most likely blew their entire budget and then some on this phone.

Also something to think about: from the company's perspective BlackBerry is now more about IoT, automobile OS, and end-to-end security. Making a big deal out of the Priv will detract from their now core missions.

[crucial bbq]

They are getting free press. Fortune is saying the pricing is insane. I mean come on people this is Blackberry. Chen has done nothing to promote the brand or rehab the brand image since coming on board. Did you really expect some super, and coherent marketing strategy with this device? I mean they are touting their securing of Android on the BES side of things as allowing business to use lower cost Android devices, and releasing an Android device with the worst spec to price ratio and highest pricing. You can tell from the message that the goal is to not stay in hardware as BlackBerry is incapable of releasing a low cost device with competitive specs. You can get an LG G4 for $479 right now, and it is basically the same device spec wise.

Don't forget that specs go beyond the typical comparisons that we are used to seeing. BlackBerry has done things with the Priv that simply cannot be "spec'd" against any other phone except maybe perhaps the Passport. Whether those are worth the higher price tag or not remains to be seen but don't forget that the S6 Edge launched in the U.S. at nearly $800 USD. It's now "discounted" price is still in the $600s off contract.

[Wmsi]

Agreed. I'm a shareholder and I only want this company to succeed but this farce of a launch is hard to stomach. With the many leaks, the stupid name, bumbling of Chen on BNN showing off the Priv 'running Google', the creepy killer in the shower ads, Beard saying it's an 'order' page and not a pre-order page, and this awful launch, this is just getting ridiculous.

Posted via CB10

As a shareholder, isn't Chen accountable to you?

Are there not shareholder groups that will give them hell for this botched up "launch"?

[BBSpring]

In response to the post: It's obvious that BB is low on resources, so doing a big splashy event is not required, but a press release and some sexy images, coupled with a short hero video showing the device doing what it does best....that way the press can latch onto something other than the stuff they will make up for themselves. Maybe that is already planned, who knows.....but it's now not even expected.

[dejanh]

As a shareholder, isn't Chen accountable to you?

Are there not shareholder groups that will give them hell for this botched up "launch"?

You need numbers. Most aren't even aware of what is happening.

[dejanh]

Even Inside BlackBerry blog has no info as of this moment...but keep checking back.

News | Inside BlackBerry

[jaydee5799]

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh, Finally, Blackberry got it right.... NO ONE EVER SAID

oh no....not again!

[NG888]

This is what happens when leaks start showing up, and BlackBerry prolongs the process of releasing the device. They should have from day one, just shown a good quality promo video and issued a release for pre-order and shipment, would have taken away all this frustration and ambiguity.

[crucial bbq]

In response to the post: It's obvious that BB is low on resources, so doing a big splashy event is not required, but a press release and some sexy images, coupled with a short hero video showing the device doing what it does best....that way the press can latch onto something other than the stuff they will make up for themselves. Maybe that is already planned, who knows.....but it's now not even expected.

If BlackBerry were an American company you could bet on there being fireworks, billboards, full-page ads, celebrities, cake, and free beer. Canadians are far much more humble (except when it comes to hockey).

[murphcid]

I am disappointed. But Chen has a bigger picture, I guess. I want BB to succeed, but to do that they have to go out and get some of the "hipster" crowd to give up their iPhones, or their Samsungs. Heck, pay for product placement in a James Bond movie! Get the phone out there in the public's face, and let them see it. Get the hipsters otherwise it will remain and Old persons phone.

[chenageddon]

There must be supply issues. John Chen probably doesn't want to spend the marketing money if they don't have the units to ship.

[hoopitz]

Why would there be a launch event for pre-orders when the phone itself will not ship until Nov. 6th? Logic dictates launch event = ship date.

I mean, hey let's have a party for a phone that no consumer will see for another 2 -3 weeks. Right, okay.

I agree with that sentiment, but this hasn't exactly gone the way of most phone releases, so they need to adjust. This phone has been leaked all over the place. BlackBerry finally acknowledged it, but barely. Chen showed it on BNN (very awkwardly), they released a spec sheet, and that's it. It gives the public the perception that BlackBerry has no idea what they're doing. They're letting the press take over, without proactively sending the message that they want. This is arguably the biggest move that BlackBerry has EVER made, and it seems like they're just rolling it out like every other half-assed roll out they've done before.

... My guess is that BlackBerry is playing it safe for the time being to see how things pan out. If pre-orders are high enough they might throw a more substantial event on or near Nov. 6th. If not and pre-orders are lowered than expected they remain in a position to allow it all to quietly slip away unnoticed for the most part (outside of diehards).

Then again I do not recall one phone in recent history that came up out of nowhere and has received as much press as the Priv has. It has got to be the most talked about phone outside of the iPhone over the last five years in the least. So another way to look at it: the launch party has been on-going.

No way are they just seeing how "things pan out." If that were the case, this would be the dumbest company on the face of the earth. They spent a fortune in resources putting this phone together, and you think that if it doesn't have a good number of pre-orders, they'll just think "oh well, let's not market it." That's crazy.

Bottom line is that BlackBerry has had an awful track record for product releases, and this one is following suit. This phone is a massive shift for them, and they should be pimping the hell out of it, and not just hoping that the internet does their work for them. These aren't the days of people just waiting to go run out and buy the new BlackBerry and they know that. Even Apple, whose fans countdown the days to the next version, advertise like crazy to create the hype. I know their pockets are a lot deaper than BlackBerry's, but there is a difference between doing something, and nothing at all. Pathetic marketing for this phone so far.

[lnichols]

Don't forget that specs go beyond the typical comparisons that we are used to seeing. BlackBerry has done things with the Priv that simply cannot be "spec'd" against any other phone except maybe perhaps the Passport. Whether those are worth the higher price tag or not remains to be seen but don't forget that the S6 Edge launched in the U.S. at nearly $800 USD. It's now "discounted" price is still in the $600s off contract.

Yes but it launched with the latest SoC. The G4 launched with a high price too, but is being discounted now. BlackBerry is late in the game with the current generation of Android flagships. I get it, BlackBerry is going to extort the people that buy every BlackBerry like they always do, like all manufacturers do, but the pricing of this device is not sustainable beyond that tiny group. And no BlackBerry hasn't done a lot of super special stuff. In the end it is still an OHA compliant Android device and has to have certain apps and meet OHA guidelines. This phone is competing with other Android devices and very few people don't care enough about privacy and security to overpay for a device as BB10 has proven.

[BBSpring]

If BlackBerry were an American company you could bet on there being fireworks, billboards, full-page ads, celebrities, cake, and free beer. Canadians are far much more humble (except when it comes to hockey).

That has something to do with it, However Chen is not Canadian. In fact he is accustomed to the ways of SV. I would guess that there is not budget and/or man power to make this go the way most would expect. Either way, it's an obvious cast study for how NOT to win. IMO

[Adam Frix]

I would imagine they would wait for carrier launch before an announcement, so the people on contracts can get it on launch day.

This preorder is to appease us crackberrians that can't wait and are willing to buy the device outright.

 Posted in CB10 from my amazing SQUARE OG Passport 

I'm willing to buy it outright, but I absolutely need a unit built for T-Mobile--complete with its wifi calling built in.

On the other hand, I don't want a T-Mobile unit that requires that all software updates/upgrades be run through T-Mobile.

If I have to buy a unit that gives up T-Mo's wifi calling, then I won't buy a unit that costs this much.

[cgk]

To add to what I posted above, the Priv is singlehandedly a first not only for BlackBerry but also for Android, Google, and diehards all around. It is entering new and untested territory for all and is surely a bigger deal than some may think.

BlackBerry injected PINs into the chips and employed Root of Trust making the Priv the first "compatible" Android handset that cannot be rooted (but we'll see how well that works out...).

The Priv is the first "compatible" Android that seems to be breaking OHA rules. For one, it is against OHA rules to prevent the ability to root. Well, in the past it was anyways. I put compatible between quotation marks because the BlackPhone 2 also has Play and AfW and that OS is surely not "Google compatible". BlackBerry also tweaked the kernel and to my knowledge are not making available those tweaks to the AOSP, which would have been the rule under OHA. But this is something that will remain to be seen.
.

Where do you get that idea from about root? Or that stuff about the kernel - none of it is true. Many have tried to prevent root in the best (Motorola, Alcatel) - they get defeated in the end but there is nothing in compliance about root and nothing about using a different kernel as long as it's fits certain specifications.

[Frosty_Power]

Maybe they are doing what Apple does so well, announce the new phone, then make it available very shortly after. It sure works great for Apple. I guess we will soon find out.

[RyanGermann]

Why would there be a launch event for pre-orders when the phone itself will not ship until Nov. 6th? Logic dictates launch event = ship date.

Well, Apple announces their devices with appropriate fanfare even when (like the Watch) they won't ship for 6 months. Whatever BlackBerry is doing re: "launch" of the Priv, it's not being done properly by any measure.

[thepolishguy]

Did Chen really say, "It runs the Google"?

[dejanh]

Did Chen really say, "It runs the Google"?

Yes...yes, he did.