[RubberChicken76]

Next quarter numbers better be good or else the Z10 is toast. How many more excuses will we hear if they don't sell 10 million units when the device is available worldwide? Remember, iPhone sold nearly 50 million units during the iPhone's launch quarter. Surely 20% of that number isn't unrealistic to expect?

Who cares what they sell, as long as they a) increase the user base; b) increase the adoption of BlackBerry 10; and c) turn a profit?

Is 5 million Blackberry 10 devices a 'failure' if BlackBerry sells 9 million phones in total, increases the subscriber count back to 78 million and turns a bigger profit, while raising the cash to $3 billion?

People are going to compare with Apple regardless. The survival of the company is what is important.

[lnichols]

That was exactly my own experience with my kids. My daughter had no BBM contacts left when she switched to iPhone last fall and now that she's got iMessenger, she won't switch back to BB unless she sees a critical mass with BBM (notwithstanding the availability of Whatsapp).

My son realized how "out of the loop" he was when he was the only BBM user among his group of friends and feels so much better connected now with iMessenger.

So you're absolutely right -- more BBM users are needed to ensure Z10s success.

Hmmm. My oldest son has had a BlackBerry since 2009, has only ever had people in the immediate family to BBM with, and is now in college and still sends does about 5000 txts per month. Doesn't use Whatsapp. My 14 year old has had BB for about 3.5 years and it is the same pattern of txting friends. With unlimited txt plans that is what the kids here seem to use the most. The one in college still wants a keyboard device when he upgrades. So your experience is not representative of all. With the explosion of Android, the closed communication system will not be able to support everyone.

Also I buy the phones, so they get what I want them to have. I say your getting a BlackBerry, they deal with it.

[anon(5828343)]

The irony if it were the case would be great if Microsoft were complaining about anti-trust behaviour. :-) Imagine in the 1990s what the reaction would have been if Bill Gates had said, "OK people ... now you can only buy Windows apps from our store and no where else!!!!"

LOL! So true and so bang on!

I too don't think there is some conspiracy keeping apps off Windows Phone and BB10...the app developers will go where the users are so hopefully that will be remedied sooner rather than later.

[anon(5828343)]

Hmmm. My oldest son has had a BlackBerry since 2009, has only ever had people in the immediate family to BBM with, and is now in college and still sends does about 5000 txts per month. Doesn't use Whatsapp. My 14 year old has had BB for about 3.5 years and it is the same pattern of txting friends. With unlimited txt plans that is what the kids here seem to use the most. The one in college still wants a keyboard device when he upgrades. So your experience is not representative of all. With the explosion of Android, the closed communication system will not be able to support everyone.

Also I buy the phones, so they get what I want them to have. I say your getting a BlackBerry, they deal with it.

I would certainly not pretend that my experience is any more relevant than yours is. I am merely recounting my own experience given the original questions posed. I agree that with the advent of Whatsapp and unlimited texting plans, platform specific messaging applications will become less and less relevant. However, it has been my experience that at least with my two kids, their device decisions have been based on their ability to easily and readily communicate with their friends. When BB was more prevalent among their friends, BBM was "it". Now that the iPhone is more relevant, "iMessaging" is "it".

My son actually found it hard to switch over to a virtual keyboard from his BB Bold. He very reluctantly switched within the past week and when I spoke to him over Easter, he said he was quite happy and was getting used to his iPhone 5.

Who knows...maybe my kids will realize the error of their ways and ask for BB Z10s or Q10s when they come out. Unlike you, though, I can't really bring myself to tell them to "deal with it".

[anon(5828343)]

Who cares what they sell, as long as they a) increase the user base; b) increase the adoption of BlackBerry 10; and c) turn a profit?

Is 5 million Blackberry 10 devices a 'failure' if BlackBerry sells 9 million phones in total, increases the subscriber count back to 78 million and turns a bigger profit, while raising the cash to $3 billion?

People are going to compare with Apple regardless. The survival of the company is what is important.

I'm merely saying that the sales number had better be bigger than 1 million or else people will call it a failure.

Comparisons with Apple or Samsung are inevitable especially when the CEO of BBRY himself calls the iPhone "outdated" in the national media.

When the CEO so overtly attacks another, competitive device (and the word "outdated" is nothing but an attack in the technology sector), he invites comparisons whether he wants them or not. If I were advising Thorsten Heins, I certainly would never have advised making such a comment unless I had something serious to gloat about. Imagine Yahoo calling Google "outdated" or Myspace calling Facebook "outdated". It's like the bronze medalist calling the gold medalist a loser. It's hard to take seriously.

In addition to a healthy BB10 (Z10+Q10) sales number, BBRY turning a profit and slowing or stopping the drop in BB subscribers will be key to any measure of success. I am very hopeful that the arrival of the Q10 this quarter will help since there is so much pent-up demand among current BB7 (and older) users for the physical keyboard version of the BB10 device. Hopefully, BBRY is listening intently to what those types of users (ie. existing BB diehards who love what they have and don't want core functions to disappear) will want.

[Clifford Brown]

I employ a lot of teenagers and one of them is an assistant manager for me. Today I was organizing some of my meetings on my Z, he walked by me and said "I can't front, that phone is badass. I'm getting that with my upgrade. My Iphone seems pretty weak. " I just laughed.

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[anon(5828229)]

I'm 13 and have a Z10 and a few people in my school think my phone is 'sick!' While, some of them ask to look at it, and say it sucks without even turning it on -_- And then I ask them if their phone has NFC, Time shift mode, and all the things iPhones don't have and they get mad hehe

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[bmercer94]

I'm 13 and have a Z10 and a few people in my school think my phone is 'sick!' While, some of them ask to look at it, and say it sucks without even turning it on -_- And then I ask them if their phone has NFC, Time shift mode, and all the things iPhones don't have and they get mad hehe

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this is exactly where my friend, who just got her Z10 and I team up against the iOS users to NFC file share