[anon(10512033)]

There is an app for that... KBOX can provide a Linux-like console environment on top of Android.

But yeah there are a number of Linux based distributions for mobile. It's finding hardware that matches up that can be tricky, as many of them are still in "development". LineageOS is probable the one with the most commercial success, and the most compatibility with today's hardware.

I have a Xiaomi Mi A1 with LineageOS. It's a very nice device and set up without any g-apps. But I really prefer a physical keyboard and don't need any distractions during the day, so I carry my 9900 and use the Xiaomi as a mini tablet when I'm at home.

You're right about the mobile linux distributions being in development. They're definitely not ready for prime time, but perhaps the availability of new hardware (Necuno, Librem 5, Pinephone) will speed things along.

[bb10adopter111]

The short answer is, that the market has spoken, and BlackBerry very wisely stopped investing in Mobile hardware because there is no serious money to be made there for anyone besides Apple, Google, and a handful of consumer electronics behemoths.

The only thing I would require to continue using BB10 indefinitely is the continuation of BBID and BlackBerry Protect. I would give up the browser, maps, weather, and everything else except the core BlackBerry functions and apps in their current state.

If the future is Android/Apple, then I'll buy the cheapest secure phone I can and deal with it. But there's no allure or excitement for me at all in the prospect. I'll treat my phone like an old beater car and do the minimum to keep it running.

Soon 5G will arrive, but, as a consumer, I won't be buying in to the anti-privacy convenience wave that accompanies all the new services that will come with greater bandwidth.

The Internet is becoming more and more like television was from 1960-2010. It's a content engine controlled by a handful of large corporations. The "disruption" has simply replaced the same products and services with digital equivalents. All of the real innovation of the Internet happened before 2004.

Sorry for the bleak perspective, but in that context what should we expect from mobile besides more disappointment?

Posted with my trusty Z10

[ppeters914]

Sorry for the bleak perspective, but in that context what should we expect from mobile besides more disappointment?

Posted with my trusty Z10

[the_boon]

The short answer is, that the market has spoken, and BlackBerry very wisely stopped investing in Mobile hardware because there is no serious money to be made there for anyone besides Apple, Google, and a handful of consumer electronics behemoths.

The only thing I would require to continue using BB10 indefinitely is the continuation of BBID and BlackBerry Protect. I would give up the browser, maps, weather, and everything else except the core BlackBerry functions and apps in their current state.

If the future is Android/Apple, then I'll buy the cheapest secure phone I can and deal with it. But there's no allure or excitement for me at all in the prospect. I'll treat my phone like an old beater car and do the minimum to keep it running.

Soon 5G will arrive, but, as a consumer, I won't be buying in to the anti-privacy convenience wave that accompanies all the new services that will come with greater bandwidth.

The Internet is becoming more and more like television was from 1960-2010. It's a content engine controlled by a handful of large corporations. The "disruption" has simply replaced the same products and services with digital equivalents. All of the real innovation of the Internet happened before 2004.

Sorry for the bleak perspective, but in that context what should we expect from mobile besides more disappointment?

Posted with my trusty Z10

And if you don't value the PKB and notification LED that BBMo provides, then yeah there really won't be anything for you to get excited about in the mobile space.

[cribble2k]

And if you don't value the PKB and notification LED that BBMo provides, then yeah there really won't be anything for you to get excited about in the mobile space.

Are you implying that only BlackBerry Android devices have the notification LED?

Pixel devices have this, at least the 1 and 2 XL, the only Pixel devices I've owned.

[bb10adopter111]

And if you don't value the PKB and notification LED that BBMo provides, then yeah there really won't be anything for you to get excited about in the mobile space.

The Android Implementation of the LED is pretty useless for me, as it doesn't rotate colors for unread messages in the Hub. I'm equally happy on PKB and slab phones. I've used BlackBerry PKBs for more than 15 years, and the VKB on the Z10 for 6.

For me, BlackBerry means better security, privacy, and written communication workflow. Currently, the KEY phones are the best for that, but only marginally.

Posted with my trusty Z10

[TgeekB]

For me, BlackBerry means better security, privacy, and written communication workflow. Currently, the KEY phones are the best for that, but only marginally.

Posted with my trusty Z10

I think this is a fair statement.

[the_boon]

Are you implying that only BlackBerry Android devices have the notification LED?

Pixel devices have this, at least the 1 and 2 XL, the only Pixel devices I've owned.

Other Android phones have it, I'm aware of that.

But their implementation of it is just terrible, just look at Samsung. It blinks only purple or blue and with way too long intervals, and it's of course not customizable.

The only thing that can save it is LED Manager or Light Flow from the Play Store but even then, not too much a fan of those.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

BlackBerry was focused on business productivity in the development on BB10... that is what they knew.

I think most engineers an designers working for Google, Samsung or other OEM with heavy skins... are focused on consumers and fun. Thing is I don't see how improvements to productivity features would really hurt consumer fun.

Reality is we have to give up things we grow use to. I know when my company switched from Palm to BlackBerry I really appreciated the longer battery life & BBM. But there were a number of productivity features that BlackBerry was missing back then - the meeting modes, group contacts for texting, touch screen. If Active Sync had hit the market sooner....

[bb10adopter111]

BlackBerry was focused on business productivity in the development on BB10... that is what they knew.

I think most engineers an designers working for Google, Samsung or other OEM with heavy skins... are focused on consumers and fun. Thing is I don't see how improvements to productivity features would really hurt consumer fun.

Reality is we have to give up things we grow use to. I know when my company switched from Palm to BlackBerry I really appreciated the longer battery life & BBM. But there were a number of productivity features that BlackBerry was missing back then - the meeting modes, group contacts for texting, touch screen. If Active Sync had hit the market sooner....

I don't expect to see better productivity workflow or business features from Apple, Google, or any of the OEMs, unfortunately.

Since consumers are the buyers now, mobile phone features are consumer-focused, and the number of consumers that value business productivity over media and entertainment is too small for anyone but a niche OEM.

When corporate IT made the buying decisions, workplace productivity was the focus. I wish it were still true, but that's not how the market played out.

[ppeters914]

When corporate IT made the buying decisions, workplace productivity was the focus. I wish it were still true, but that's not how the market played out.

Yup.

[TgeekB]

[IMG=350x350]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190328/3c84b60d0d034739f86fc31e96e1f318.jpg[/url]

So do you think has workplace productivity dropped overall because people aren’t using BlackBerry phones?

[johnsliderbb]

So do you think has workplace productivity dropped overall because people aren’t using BlackBerry phones?

Count the Candy Crush playing colleagues. Or Fortnite. Yes it dropped.

[TgeekB]

Count the Candy Crush playing colleagues. Or Fortnite. Yes it dropped.

That doesn’t mean productivity dropped.

[bb10adopter111]

Productivity growth in the US has slowed dramatically in the US during the smartphone Era compared to the explosive growth during the rise of the OS in the 1990s and early 2000s.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-in...ctivity-growth

That's not proof of causality, but there's no indication smartphones have made people MORE productive.

Posted with my trusty Z10

[joeldf]

Other Android phones have it, I'm aware of that.

But their implementation of it is just terrible, just look at Samsung. It blinks only purple or blue and with way too long intervals, and it's of course not customizable.

The only thing that can save it is LED Manager or Light Flow from the Play Store but even then, not too much a fan of those.

Not true for Samsung. I have green, blue, red and pink (supposed to be white for calendar, but it comes out pink) for several specific accounts that can be set by the Hub and Textra.

For any other apps, I'd need an additional LED app because few other apps can directly set the LED color, but I don't use notifications from any other app.

However, because of Samsung's misguided zeal to go totally bezel-less, the LED is now gone in the S10 series.

[ppeters914]

Not true for Samsung. I have green, blue, red and pink (supposed to be white for calendar, but it comes out pink) for several specific accounts that can be set by the Hub and Textra.

Just using stock Android Messaging, but where in the Inbox nee ex-Hub can you set the LED?

[Apple Aya]

I moved away from BB. I tried the android BB experience briefly on the DTEK50 but it was a mixed bag. I liked the screen and contrast but the phone was slow and buggy.

Then I went back to the Passport and enjoyed the heck out of that experience...again. But over time it became apparent that websites, programs and yes even the battery life started to suffer on the Passport and I knew it was time to move on...especially since I had recently gotten a car with android auto.

So I researched what would be a good phone with good specs, nice screen size, big battery all for a good price. And well BlackBerry wasn't it. I didn't care about PKB too much because imo the only PKB that was any good was the Passport's. I know many of you would disagree and that's fair, but my hands just couldn't get used to smaller keyboards, they would cramp up. After going wide, I just couldn't go back.

So I got a Nokia 7 Plus and couldn't be happier. Amazing phone for the money. Sure a couple of phones out there do beat it on value but at least Nokia is one of those nostalgic brands like BlackBerry and they're doing it right. They're banking on that nostalgia but are not ripping their customers off either.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

They're banking on that nostalgia but are not ripping their customers off either.

Some would argue that Nokia isn't spending millions in better securing and updating Android, which is a cost that users must cover. https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/privacy-info

But yeah I think most agree with you.... which is why the three SLAB phones that have gone to market so far, have all failed, and no one expects there to be another any time soon (well maybe the already launched but not yet delivered Evolve X). It will take Enterprise buying into BlackBerry Secure and wanting a Slab option to be offered... is my guess. Also my guess that it will require there to still be a BBMo....

[ppeters914]

So I got a Nokia 7 Plus and couldn't be happier. Amazing phone for the money. Sure a couple of phones out there do beat it on value but at least Nokia is one of those nostalgic brands like BlackBerry and they're doing it right. They're banking on that nostalgia but are not ripping their customers off either.

Yeah, I almost went with the Nokia 7, but it was another few weeks before available in the US, and I found a near new LG G7 for $450. Added Cobalt's BB Manager so I could have my BB VKB, and I'm a (mostly) happy camper.

[TgeekB]

Yeah, I almost went with the Nokia 7, but it was another few weeks before available in the US, and I found a near new LG G7 for $450. Added Cobalt's BB Manager so I could have my BB VKB, and I'm a (mostly) happy camper.

I have the Nokia 7.1. It’s a beautiful phone, just the perfect size for me. Well built, gets the latest updates and has decent specs. Well worth the $315 I paid for it (lightly used).

[elfabio80]

I have the Nokia 7.1. It’s a beautiful phone, just the perfect size for me. Well built, gets the latest updates and has decent specs. Well worth the $315 I paid for it (lightly used).

Nokia is doing a great job especially with the updates (Android Version) and security patches. TCL would have a lot to learn.....

[TgeekB]

Nokia is doing a great job especially with the updates (Android Version) and security patches. TCL would have a lot to learn.....

Very true. My Nokia has Pie and the March security update. My LE is on Oreo and the February security update.