[lnichols]

The only mistake of $199 sale is that BlackBerry didn't give the company running the store, Digital River, the product until late. So I ordered a phone on Dec 2, and still haven't received an email other than the order confirmation. It is yet another example of poor execution, especially during the holiday season when people expect a device being sold as in stock to ship out quick, by BlackBerry and it's designated business partners.

Posted via CB10

[Karajorma]

Could "easily dominate" China? Are you serious?

Not in terms of dominating Android and iPhone sales, but in terms of "cool" factor, in terms of being a strong number 3, in terms of having a double digit market share, in terms of having China become their dominant market, I'm absolutely serious.

The Chinese love the iPhone but it's often people who have never actually used one that want one. They love it because it's cool, not because they think it's a great phone (they've never used it!). But when I pull out my Q10 I often hear whispers of "Hei mei" (Blackberry) cause people are surprised to see a foreigner with an expensive phone that isn't Android or iOS. It wouldn't take much to turn that response into a "Blackberry is cooler than iPhone" perception. Especially when you point out that Obama (who the Chinese love) is also a BlackBerry user.

Given the really slow sales they have had everywhere else, and the prevalence of smartphones in China, it would not be hard for China to become their main market. Especially given that as has been pointed out previously, a lot of of the Blackberry apps are made in China. Especially given that Google has all kinds of roadblocks in China (Can't use the Play Store, for instance) and it would only take a tiny market share here in China to make the Chinese alternatives to Google start making BlackBerry apps (hell, Tencent already made WeChat!).

Instead, BlackBerry repeatedly ignore the Chinese market in favour of places like America where they don't have a hope. Is BB10 even out here? I'm pretty sure I've only ever seen grey imports. The official BB phones that were releases in China were slightly altered versions of the previous generation, never anything up to date. Do you think Apple would try to crack the Chinese market by rebadging the iPhone 3? It's a joke. Why would any company which is having serious problems selling smartphones deliberately ignore the largest smartphone market in the world? Especially a country where every phone is unlocked, tarriffs are virtually non-existent and therefore anyone can change phones on a whim.

A smart policy on Chinese sales could be BlackBerry's salvation. Based on past form though, I doubt I'll ever see one.