[The Big Picture]

With the slider being heavily rumored to have android. It begs the question if this is the right move for BlackBerry.

One statistic tells you why HTC collapsed and why Android is in so much trouble - Business Insider

The average profit per android phone is 1.2 cents. Literally a penny per phone.

The only real winner here is google and to me that's ridiculous.

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[thurask]

The average profit per android phone is 1.2 cents. Literally a penny per phone.

Better than negative...

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[StutterStep]

Do you really want to know why HTC is in so much trouble? Because they did not change their flagship device much after the first HTC One M7. People did not like the HTC One M9 because the camera still after 3 years is poor. The snapdragon 810 is hot and throttles a lot and the device battery life got worse. Why do they keep the big bezel at the bottom that a lot of people do not like because of its added height? How do you release a flagship that is worse in some ways than the previous ones? Ask HTC. They only have themselves to blame for their own mistakes, not android.

[playfoot]

A penny, a mere penny. And the article is unclear as to if that is handset profit, net profit or . . . ? Makes one wonder about being in the commodity handset business.

As I have posted elsewhere, I am concerned about the move to Android, if indeed the rumours are true. While I do not have any inside information, I do worry about the strategy and the execution, especially now the rumours seem to have added weight. Will this all but destroy BB10 as there will be essentially little to no app development? Will this be the beginning of the end of handsets for BB10? What is the repetitional risk for BB due to third party Android hardware not designed in-house with as much attention to detail as say the PP, the Z or the Q? And of course perceived security risks as it relates to BB?

Simply put, I would love to be inside the company to understand the strategy, near, mid and long term. Interesting times indeed....

I might be wrong, but this may be Chen's first BIG decision. It would seem to me that all handsets to date were developed under previous regimes, as indeed was BB10. Cost cutting and restructuring while extremely difficult and important are a challenge separate to deciding the product direction of a company that at one time was iconic similar to Benz, BMW or Rolex....

[koool1]

BlackBerry lost the OS war many moons ago. BB10 was a year or two late and there is no going back.

Android experiment is risky but it's probably the only route left to keep the handset business alive. Adding more BB10 handsets is not going to change anything. Adding a secure Android handset with a BB10 overlay and Google Play - that has a chance to be a hit.

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[Iggy City]

Going Android is the only alternative to continuing the consumer business. Don't you see, BB10 is a practically a failed business that's doing nothing other than losing the company money.

[AnimalPak200]

The only real winner here is google and to me that's ridiculous.

Posted via CB10

What about the hundreds of millions of low income/developing country users that were finally able to afford a link to the internet? You can't possibly be arguing for higher mark-ups enabled by less competition.

Google saw "The Big Picture", and executed. Two things BlackBerry did not. Why would history turn out any other way?

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[Bbnivende]

I think there is room for a BlackBerry Android but it would need to be a high quality product with a great camera and a reliable PKB.

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[lnichols]

Nah HTC didn't really advertise much. Even their CEO admitted that advertising was an issue for them. I'm sure BlackBerry won't fall into that same trap. Can't Watch!

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[nuntym]

I think this article also is very relevant to the thread:

The one thing Bill Gates understood immediately but took 20 years for Steve Jobs to realize

[Bbnivende]

I think this article also is very relevant to the thread:

The one thing Bill Gates understood immediately but took 20 years for Steve Jobs to realize

It might be said that BlackBerry is trying to build a MDM platform for smartphones. He seems to be missing the Microsoft piece though.

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[Dat Gui]

The big reason why it's a big risk is because they will be gambling their loyal fan base for POTENTIAL sales. I for one love android but would not want it as my main phone. If BlackBerry does go android I see no reason why their phones will be any different from the hundreds of android phones. I can get a top of the line one plus 2 for a fraction of the price with top notch specs, BlackBerry isn't known to have the current specs on their phone. Say BlackBerry fails with android and goes back to bb10, they just betrayed their fans and I know some won't come crawling back. Could it make them a lot of money? Yes. But I don't think it will, just look at samsung, the king of android, and they're sliding down, Sony, is in trouble as well, along with all the other android titans. I say if you release android, do a BlackBerry version as well, play it safe.

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[SunshineStateFlyer]

I'd love to see them launch the slider in two versions, a BB10 and an Android version.

As for Android on BlackBerry, it's definitely worth a try. I think there would be many who would give it a try. John Rettinger from TechnoBuffalo said on his channel that he would be all over a BlackBerry Slider running Android.

People just know what they have with Android. They know Google puts a lot of effort into it and they have their experience with the platform. Plus, Android can be connected to everything and gives access to a whole lot of apps and extensions.

I think most consumers are not reluctant to get a BlackBerry. They just don't want BB10.

So, after all, I see it as a good chance to keep up with the hardware market and getting back some lost users.

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[Fidel Mercado]

The name "Blackberry" plastered on a phone that is selling IS a win. Brand repair should be the main goal.

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[CEctech25]

The answer is to get Google to integrate with BB10. The android runtime is already there. Just improve upon it and get the more important apps that have issues to run correctly and BB10 wins.

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[yeo123]

BlackBerry register new subsidiary company, and selling android or hybrid phone. Others option to BlackBerry subsidiary join venture with android enterprise and make hybrid or Android phone. This business structure is reduce the risk to BlackBerry company.

 Z10/STL100-2/2339 

[Doctornoc]

Blackberry need to put more marketing into their products and focus on their brand

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[lactose]

I read the other day that only Samsung and Apple are making money on phones. And I have heard rumblings that Samsung would like to get away from Android. My pet theory is that modern markets are self-cannibalizing. Prices keep dropping to where it is no longer profitable to make phones in your home company. Then you resort to slave labor in another country. Eventually that is not even enough. Markets are supposed to prevent this from happening. Combine this with the growing realization that first world countries are in for a serious adjustment in standard of living due to automation and other problems with the job market. And the US view that anything less than constant double digit growth is failure. Not an encouraging picture.

[Bbnivende]

I'd love to see them launch the slider in two versions, a BB10 and an Android version.

As for Android on BlackBerry, it's definitely worth a try. I think there would be many who would give it a try. John Rettinger from TechnoBuffalo said on his channel that he would be all over a BlackBerry Slider running Android.

People just know what they have with Android. They know Google puts a lot of effort into it and they have their experience with the platform. Plus, Android can be connected to everything and gives access to a whole lot of apps and extensions.

I think most consumers are not reluctant to get a BlackBerry. They just don't want BB10.

So, after all, I see it as a good chance to keep up with the hardware market and getting back some lost users.

Posted via CB10

The issue is whether the BB10 could retain runtime and still produce a Google Play compliant device. Is BB10 viable without runtime? Personally, I might buy a BB10 device as it is now or a full Android device but I would not buy either a forked Android like the Amazon Fire or a BB10 device without access to Android apps.

[Dat Gui]

The name "Blackberry" plastered on a phone that is selling IS a win. Brand repair should be the main goal.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I think that's the biggest thing, is BlackBerry just has a bad stigma, I think it'll take more than android to repair that.

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[app_Developer]

The name "Blackberry" plastered on a phone that is selling IS a win. Brand repair should be the main goal.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I totally agree. If they can sell a reasonable number of these that would help with the stink of failure they carry right now. I think it's worth a shot, and I will definitely buy one if they implement the hub well.


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[BlackberryFan777]

Better than negative...

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I don't know if you know this, but BlackBerry gets pretty good margins on its smartphone sales, much better than most Android OEMs. It's not a profitable division, but it probably would have been by now if Thor was still the CEO. Chen just moves far too few phones. His decision to kill developer relations and his inability to sell anything outside of BlackBerry's existing networks in enterprise and government just really, really hurt. By his own admission, he only needs to sell 10 million of them in a year with BB10. But, the upside is even greater with your own platform -- app sales revenue, licensing revenue, crossover form factors, etc., etc.

Don't get me wrong, I may give in and buy an Android BlackBerry for the Hub and such, but I'd rather see BB10 grow and prosper into something awesome with a decent community of developers and cool IoT features and Blendy stuff not available on other platforms. But, well, with one of the worst CEOs in tech at the helm and billions in momentum wasted due to his misplay, does BlackBerry still have the capacity to have their own platform?



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[The Big Picture]

If it's plain vanilla android it's not gonna sell.

Nexus, Htc, Sony and motorola phones don't sell much. Neither would a BlackBerry android.

If it's a secured android with Google play services, it might have a niche.

This is all imo of course.

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[Bluenoser63]

If BlackBerry goes Android, it will do more harm than good.

Do you think that carriers will carry BlackBerry phones just because they switch to Android? Nope. Customers will be confused and will not associate BlackBerry with Android. There will be a lot of advertising to get people to understand. So this is a failure.

[app_Developer]

If BlackBerry goes Android, it will do more harm than good.

Do you think that carriers will carry BlackBerry phones just because they switch to Android? Nope. Customers will be confused and will not associate BlackBerry with Android. There will be a lot of advertising to get people to understand. So this is a failure.

That's a good point about the association in customer's minds. So many still think BB7, and not even BB10!

I would hope BB has a plan to promote this phone. Maybe this is what they've been saving their powder for?


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