[Linda9600]

As other people have said, there are valid points. The reality is that yes, the screen is small. It's all about screen size these days!! The era of the keyboard being the main feature and selling factor is over. That factor was over when the iPhone came on the scene and later the Samsung phones when they made their screens larger to outdo Apple.

The Q10 is smaller than the Z10 and I do not know why the Q10 was not designed to be at least the same length and width as the Z10, even slightly larger so the screen size can be bigger.

I agree with those who said the Q10 is marketed to a small group of consumers. It will not sell like hotcakes, but it will quietly sell out of the media spotlight, certainly not as many as the Z10, but it will still sell some.

I can't wait to see how the Z10 and Q10 do in the US. What an uphill climb for them. The S4's launch event post on HuffPost got 1000+ comments, last time I checked. HTC One got about 110 comments. BlackBerry 10 only got about 85 comments.

I am all for BlackBerry and thoroughly enjoy their reputation of making smartphones for productivity, not a toy, and I sure hope the American public will pay attention to them again. It will be very hard to become relevant again in the US. At least Thorsten was realistic enough to know that they're not aiming for #1 or #2, that #3 is fine with him for now. At least he's not aiming for a fantasy.

[WillHeSurvive]

"On the other hand, I'm not a fan of typing on glass either. But I have reservations about the Q10's appeal for me due to the following:

• Smallish screen
• Elimination of "flick up the words" feature of Z10 keyboard
• Need to constantly move between keyboard and screen gestures to get things done. Inefficient.

Yeah, apparently there will be a rudimentary "word guessing" feature on the Q10, but A) it's not above the keys your fingers are hovering over, it's back up to the screen and there are only going to be 2-3 choices available at any one time - very very limited compared to Z10 on-screen keyboard innovations.

The most interesting feature will be keyboard shortcut commands. But I'm not convinced that trumps the issues in the above list"


Just think how (inefficient) the device would have been if they would have made it bigger.

[masterscarhead1]

The Q10 is the better version of the 9900. And look at how many people love the 9900. I fail to see why Q10 can't be successful. And to those who think that the Q10 is being treated like the stepchild, YOU'RE WRONG.
The Q10 was not ready for launch during the BB10 launch event. Of course they aren't going to focus on it. They are going to focus on the phone that will be available for the public to buy. The physical keyboard users are still the MAJORITY of the legacy BBOS users. This is a middle ground for them to upgrade, having the old feel, but the better OS. Why wouldn't they choose Q10?

[Omnitech]

The Q10 was not ready for launch during the BB10 launch event.

My sense is that Blackberry is still working on OS tweaks to optimize for physical keyboard functionality, and those changes will appear in 10.1, which is the main reason for the delay. (Well, besides the fact that the mass market wants to see a large touchscreen device so they are focusing resources in that direction first.)

[johnny_larue]

I think the article brings up many good points. The app experience could be limited, the small screen might make watching movies worse. It depends on what the user wants. I still am most likely to want the Q10 because unless the BB10 experience is noticeably worse on the smaller screen (e.g. using the gestures), I don't care about losing the screen size.

I value the physical keyboard because I want email and social media options first. This is less of a game and media device for me than a communication device. That said, Skype will also be an important app for me, but I see no reason it couldn't be easily ported.

I also value battery life, so the Q10 works well for me there as well.

[si_chindo]

Ummm maybe I fall under the category of "Blackberry People" but I am waiting for the Q10 as I am not fully convinced of the all touch experience. The article seems to be quite biased as in actuality there are a lot of people waiting for the Q10.

[Bbnivende]

The QWERTY market is indeed small compared to the touch screen market, but also too large to ignore. Anyone seriously think at least 70 million of the BlackBerry OS customers aren't running QWERTY devices?

We know that there are 70 million BB7 owners that have QWERTY phones. The question is how many would rather use a touch device if given a choice. The main draw for the QWERTY devices in developing countries is the deal they get on BBM texting. Cheap android touch phones are eroding the BB base in these countries. There is a huge market for cheap smartphones and Curves take advantage of that.

I would add that the Q10 should sell reasonably well in NA and the UK given that it is the only game in town for a Quality QWERTY device. I really don't anticipate a lot of sales to anyone who has not used a BB device in the past.

[diegonei]

1. There�s a physical keyboard

Moot point. The market for qwerty is there. The Q10 sales won't top the iPhones of the Galaxy's, but they will prove that some people still want keyboards.

2. Smaller screen

Not everybody wants ginormous phones. This may even play against the Q10 really. But if you're focusing on productivity (and that's the Q10's segment) really big screens are not a must.

3. Is BlackBerry 10 for consumers or enterprise users?

Yes. Moving on.

4. Mum�s the word

I won't even comment on this one...

5. The Z10 is coming first

This one is an interesting point, and I gotta say, I'm curious to see how it plays out. I, for one, would have gone Q10 if both devices were available...

6. A new Galaxy S is coming

Not everybody wants a Galaxy phone (or an Android phone for the matter). I am curious to see what tricks the G IV can do, but that isn't reason not to buy a Z10 (or ANY phone). The waiting game is a silly game that if played well will make you rich (since you'll always be waiting for the next best thing yet to be released and ne ver really buy anything)..

7. So is a new iPhone

IF the 4, 4S and 5 are any indicators, I don't think we have much to worry about. Again, main argument is the one used for the G IV above.

8. A scrunched down software experience

I may end up agreeing to this when we see apps running on the Q10, but otherwise, the OS has been coded to work properly with the screen size and resolution. It's not a shrinked or scrunched OS and the demo at the BB10 launch proves this.

9. A lack of apps

Valid point. Let's see what happens though, since we've seen both Skype and Amazon come out of the closet and decide to code for BB10.

10. It�s already the other BlackBerry

And there is a market for BlackBerry from both loyalists and people curious about BB10, what the Z10 is proving beautifully.



So, 2 valid points out of 10. Good job Mr. Reisinger.

[Omnitech]

We know that there are 70 million BB7 owners that have QWERTY phones. The question is how many would rather use a touch device if given a choice. The main draw for the QWERTY devices in developing countries is the deal they get on BBM texting.

As it turns out, a lot (most?) of the carriers in the developing world are giving FREE BBM service with a lot of their data plans for Z10's now. Which I think is a huge advantage for BBRY in those places, and makes it clear why BBM is such a strategic jewel for the company and why they are not making it cross-platform at this time.

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...ape-up-782424/

[diegonei]

As it turns out, a lot (most?) of the carriers in the developing world are giving FREE BBM service with a lot of their data plans for Z10's now. Which I think is a huge advantage for BBRY in those places, and makes it clear why BBM is such a strategic jewel for the company and why they are not making it cross-platform at this time.

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...ape-up-782424/

May be so, but here in Brasil, best I've seen is 3 months of free BIS if you get some of the Curves.

[Bbnivende]

As it turns out, a lot (most?) of the carriers in the developing world are giving FREE BBM service with a lot of their data plans for Z10's now. Which I think is a huge advantage for BBRY in those places, and makes it clear why BBM is such a strategic jewel for the company and why they are not making it cross-platform at this time.

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...ape-up-782424/

The developing world can not afford a Z10. They need a cheap Z5. Will BB offer one in time is the question.

[ibpluto]

For all the reasons they give not to buy it, could also be a reason to buy it.

I can state a bunch of facts about competing devices and say it's a reason not to get it, but doesn't make my reasons unanimous with everyone reading it.

It's an opinion piece and you know what they say about opinions......

Posted via CB10 from my awesome Z10

[deltact]

The problem is that not all "opinion" pieces are the same. An op ed piece is not the same as a letter to the editor, even though they are both opinions. This article is a so-called "expert" opinion, which people treat more of an authority than an opinion, that's the problem.

[Figgy Jammy]

Haha!! this is such a silly article but I have a counter article for this thingy.

Link - 5 Reasons to Wait for Blackberry Q10 - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

[Omnitech]

The developing world can not afford a Z10. They need a cheap Z5.

Explain this then:

http://forums.crackberry.com/bbry-f3...onesia-782343/

[Bbnivende]

"After having put up with a terribly slow and small-screened web capability on my smartphones over the last 5+ years" - Omnitech

Wow - 5 years - with an old BB. You are overdue !

[Bbnivende]

Explain this then:

http://forums.crackberry.com/bbry-f3...onesia-782343/

The average yearly salary in Indonesia is $1,420 ( reported) and a Z10 costs $722. BB's are popular in Indonesia because of BBM which I understand can be provided under a plan for as little as 20 cents a day. I am sure there are rich Indonesians that can afford such devices and look on the Z10 as a status symbol ... but that is not BB's traditional market in Indonesia thus far. They need a touch phone that sells in the $150 - $200 range is my guess. It could be that BB has adopted the Apple strategy of leaving the cheap phone market to Android's, BBOS and Nokia's own OS phones. It works for Apple but I am not sure it can work for BB to only be " a player" in the premium phone market.

[Omnitech]

My point is, let's not oversimplify and claim that "the developing world can't afford the Z10".

One of the launch countries for the Z10 was South Africa. Indications are quite brisk sales in all sorts of developing countries, and in fact Blackberry's marketshare in developing countries, on the whole, is much greater than in developed/wealthy countries.

http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...ape-up-782424/

[Omnitech]

I should add - Thorsten recently stated that Blackberry is not interested in the $50-$60US device market. But they will bring out lower-cost devices, rumored later in 2013.

Blackberry has never competed in the feature-phone or dumbphone market, and I don't blame them. Indications are that that will probably be the province of the Firefox OS, if it gains any traction at all. And cheap, malware-ridden generic no-name Android devices made in China. More power to 'em.

[Omnitech]

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...africa-783058/

[aragone79]

The developing world can not afford a Z10. They need a cheap Z5. Will BB offer one in time is the question.

In Indonesia, approximately (in my count) 5000 Z10 sold within 3 days (15 - 17 March) only in two cities, Jakarta n Surabaya. And Today, the first selling party continue to Makassar. This sales record does not include the previous selling from each carriers to their selected costumers (which, I believe, reaches for about 1000 Z10 units). The Z10 prices are within USD 600 to USD 700 for Authorized BlackBerry Distributors Guarantee (2 years guarantee), and for about USD 700 - USD 800 at the grey market (2 years independent distributor guarantee). And USD 650 - USD 700 for used Z10 non guarantee. And all are sold out as soon as Z10 arrived at the stores. Can you imagine that, where they get the money? Since you can live about almost 3 months for USD 700 (you, your wife, and 2 children).

As a matter of fact, Z10 is not officially sold to all over Indonesia right now, including my city. So, who says that Z10 is not for developing or third world country? I think, Z10 unit sold will be booming soon after Z10 is available at every gadget and computer store in Indonesia.

[Bbnivende]

In Indonesia, approximately (in my count) 5000 Z10 sold within 3 days (15 - 17 March) only in two cities, Jakarta n Surabaya. And Today, the first selling party continue to Makassar. This sales record does not include the previous selling from each carriers to their selected costumers (which, I believe, reaches for about 1000 Z10 units). The Z10 prices are within USD 600 to USD 700 for Authorized BlackBerry Distributors Guarantee (2 years guarantee), and for about USD 700 - USD 800 at the grey market (2 years independent distributor guarantee). And USD 650 - USD 700 for used Z10 non guarantee. And all are sold out as soon as Z10 arrived at the stores. Can you imagine that, where they get the money? Since you can live about almost 3 months for USD 700 (you, your wife, and 2 children).

As a matter of fact, Z10 is not officially sold to all over Indonesia right now, including my city. So, who says that Z10 is not for developing or third world country? I think, Z10 unit sold will be booming soon after Z10 is available at every gadget and computer store in Indonesia.

Since you live there I will have to concede to your point.

[Bbnivende]

I should add - Thorsten recently stated that Blackberry is not interested in the $50-$60US device market. But they will bring out lower-cost devices, rumored later in 2013.

Blackberry has never competed in the feature-phone or dumbphone market, and I don't blame them. Indications are that that will probably be the province of the Firefox OS, if it gains any traction at all. And cheap, malware-ridden generic no-name Android devices made in China. More power to 'em.

I never suggested that BB should get into the feature phone market. I Think they should be making a cheaper touch phone for China, India, and Africa etc. I actually agree with posters who say that in North America they should only offer phones that are competitive with the iPhone/Samsungs.

This is a pretty worthy phone competitor at a good price point.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/n...520-announced/

[giggabotch]

Posted via CB10

[Omnitech]

"After having put up with a terribly slow and small-screened web capability on my smartphones over the last 5+ years" - Omnitech

Wow - 5 years - with an old BB. You are overdue !

Actually I've had 2 Blackberries over about 3 years now. First was a 9630 Tour, current is a 9650 Bold.

Prior to that I was using Palm Treos. Another OS that had reached the end of its innovation and got stuck not going anywhere. But there were things about it that I still like better than current products.

I tried the original Palm Pre but got frustrated with all the missing things and lousy text editing facilities, returned it within a month.