[ChristopherEST]

Hi Crackberry. I have a Z10 And consider myself a consumer and not a business person. I love my Z10. Other than the battery life I think it is a wonderful device. I am all for BlackBerry going back to its roots in a way by marketing itself as a business centric company with their devices and services. My question is do you think Blackberry is still a brand that can bring in the average consumer? I do not use social networks but do have some apps and games on my device. Is it even worth trying to attract non-business consumers? For me I love the security and the ease of use. There is no better way to handle email and communications in general than on my BlackBerry. What do you guys think?

Posted via CB10

[Carl Estes]

I think you kind of answered your own question. The OS and security.
Now don't label this as "Heresy", but I equate BB kind of a niche market, like the way Apple was to the PC world back when, now for the mobile world: "Android/Apple equals PC, and BB equals Apple", if you understand the way I built my comparison.

I love the hardware, the security, and the logic/flexability of the OS....

[Tre Lawrence]

Without the ecosystem, I think BBRY will struggle with being sufficient for a lot of consumers (and eventually enterprise actually).

Can a "regular" consumer be happy with a BB10 device? Of course. I do believe that there are expectations that folks have that are best served by third parties though.

[ChristopherEST]

Yes I got it. That is perfectly put. Would it be worth it at this point for BlackBerry to try and appeal to regular consumers? I think there is great value in carrying a Blackberry. Of course most consumers are app centric and socially connected. I think aside from the apps Blackberry would be an excellent alternative for living a connected life. I hope Blackberry can rebound. I love where BB10 is headed.

Posted via CB10

[sedalia066]

My family members must be outside the range of "ordinary consumers" as both the wife and the stepson are in love with their Blackberries. Neither one is a big app user. With BB10 the son finds all the apps he needs in the Android store. Both use their phones extensively on a daily basis. For every one of us BB is the first and last choice in handheld devices.

[BBUniq01]

We are ordinary users. I have used it for work too but it is my daily driver for keeping my family life organized. If u have kids, multiple activities, a household to run and work, u will understand how a device like BlackBerry can make everything run smoothly. Both my kids love their Z10s too.

Posted via Q10 with 1154

[Troy Tiscareno]

"Everyday customers" will never sideload anything, or install Snap or any alternative app store, so for them, they'd either need to be able to meet their own app needs via BB World (and, soon, with Amazon Marketplace), or they'll need to pick another platform.

No matter how easy it may seem to some, for the average consumer, if they can't click "Install' from an existing app store already on their phone, it's far too complicated for them.

[spikesolie]

"Everyday customers" will never sideload anything, or install Snap or any alternative app store, so for them, they'd either need to be able to meet their own app needs via BB World (and, soon, with Amazon Marketplace), or they'll need to pick another platform.

No matter how easy it may seem to some, for the average consumer, if they can't click "Install' from an existing app store already on their phone, it's far too complicated for them.

Speak for yourself. Over generalized. I've seen the same everyday customers watch YouTube videos on how to jailbreak iPhones and androids . Especially jailbreak so they can customize ios

Posted from zee flicking coolest smartphone evah!

[BanffMoose]

My question is do you think Blackberry is still a brand that can bring in the average consumer?

I do not use social networks but do have some apps and games on my device."

There is no better way to handle email and communications in general than on my BlackBerry.

I think there were studies published recently that looked at the myth of needing a really big app ecosystem for a smartphone to succeed. Most users tend to use the phone, text, email, browse the web, or do social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, or IM. BlackBerry has most of those bases covered out of the box and the few remaining can be solved by first party or third party apps available in BlackBerry World or Amazon or via SNAP.

So the answer is yes, the average consumer will do just as well with a BlackBerry phone as they would any other smartphone. In addition,BlackBerry's multilingual word prediction and auto correct, battery life, and Hub may make the overall COMMUNICATION experience better than the other platforms.

[Tre Lawrence]

I think there were studies published recently that looked at the myth of needing a really big app ecosystem for a smartphone to succeed. Most users tend to use the phone, text, email, browse the web, or do social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, or IM. BlackBerry has most of those bases covered out of the box and the few remaining can be solved by first party or third party apps available in BlackBerry World or Amazon or via SNAP.

So the answer is yes, the average consumer will do just as well with a BlackBerry phone as they would any other smartphone. In addition,BlackBerry's multilingual word prediction and auto correct, battery life, and Hub may make the overall COMMUNICATION experience better than the other platforms.

Not that easy though. SNAP almost defines the concept of anti-consumer.

But I heartily agree: BBRY doesn't fail in the numbers category IMHO. Where it struggles with is in the area of those handful of apps that differ from one user to the next. That regional bank app. MS Suite. Fitness wearables companion apps. Automation utilities. Specialty applications.

And so on.

And then you have communication. The concept varies. If we are to view "communication" as the ability to connect with the most people via the most current avenues, well, then the argument could be made BB10 may not work for some people. What if, say Hangouts videochat is the preferred means of communication for an organization? Ah...

All that to say BB10 is a great offering on its own, but, for some people, it may need an ecosystem to be a viable option. In practical terms, it's better to offer choice. There are plenty of people on iOS, Android and WP8 that don't need apps; best to cater to people who do and don't.

[Prem WatsApp]

Looks like it's the old apps / ecosystem discussion.
The security factor is still secondary until we have a major breach affecting tens or hundreds of millions of people materially.

I found this piece about data stealing flashlight apps (was posted elsewhere earlier) particularly troubling, even though no widespread use of the gathered data has been made (yet):



I simply don't feel safe using an Android phone. Just look at the outrageous permissions a lot of apps ask for. Glad we still have choices. Mainstream Android user = pwned... by default?

(serious question)

? BlackBerry? I premdict the future's gonna be chenomenal! ?

[Tre Lawrence]

Looks like it's the old apps / ecosystem discussion.
The security factor is still secondary until we have a major breach affecting tens or hundreds of millions of people materially.

I found this piece about data stealing flashlight apps (was posted elsewhere earlier) particularly troubling, even though no widespread use of the gathered data has been made (yet):



I simply don't feel safe using an Android phone. Just look at the outrageous permissions a lot of apps ask for. Glad we still have choices. Mainstream Android user = pwned... by default?

(serious question)

? BlackBerry? I premdict the future's gonna be chenomenal! ?

Very fair question.

Not to discount the report that's been making the rounds, but it is fairly vague. The version that I saw left the names of the apps out. A lot of the Android devices I have seen have the flashlight built in. I honestly didn't know standalone flashlight apps were still so popular. I'm also very skeptical of security reports that are made by mobile security companies. Ask them what devices they use personally; it's fairly interesting.

On my rooted Android devices, I can control permissions. Having said all this, it is ridiculous IMHO for Google not to have implemented user-level control of permissions ages ago. Just as I say BB10 sideloading is not the answer for regular consumers, neither is rooting.

[Tre Lawrence]

Speak for yourself. Over generalized. I've seen the same everyday customers watch YouTube videos on how to jailbreak iPhones and androids . Especially jailbreak so they can customize ios

Posted from zee flicking coolest smartphone evah!

I actually think that is accurate. The vast majority of users do not jailbreak/root, and, IMHO shouldn't have to.

Way back when, "just root it" was the rallying cry of Android enthusiasts who expected people to do that to adopt the platform. Android's biggest triumph, IMHO, has been the ability to reduce the need to root devices to unlock otherwise latent functionality.

[crazigee]

Without the ecosystem, I think BBRY will struggle with being sufficient for a lot of consumers (and eventually enterprise actually).

This ^^

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

[winmandia]

On my own very opinion. I think Blackberry is what the very mobile i want to have. I'm also using z10 by now. And my last phone was Bb 8520. Decided to be a Blackberry user again even if my other device is still working greatly. I just moved on to another device for luxury but BB works fine. And i would rather have it than iOS phones

[BB_Junky]

There's thousands of people who have been pushed out from BBRY because of their lack of apps who still infact love BBRY. You read some of the comments on FB under the release news of devices and there are way more positive posts than negative. Sadly they've moved on to other devices that do suit their needs but apparently do keep and eye on BBRY to see what they are offering.
Give BBRY a couple of years to get their feet back under themselves and maybe they will build something for the consumer market. Until then the average person isn't going to buy something they have to hook up to a PC with the potential of bricking it just to get a few wanna be apps that are "close" to the native ones on other devices.
Look at the news this week, Apple set a new record by selling 39 million devices in a week....why? Because it's simple and now have a larger screen people can actually use. Good luck BBRY, here's to the future!!! Cheers


Sent from my HTC one M8 using Tapatalk HD

[Bbnivende]

Junky you must be talking about snap. I agree that few users will want to install Snap but I doubt that they will brick their phones. Installing OS leaks might be a tad risky.

[crazigee]

Junky you must be talking about snap. I agree that few users will want to install Snap but I doubt that they will brick their phones. Installing OS leaks might be a tad risky.

Snap and Android apps in general are stop gap at best. It's not enough to get people to switch back. Just stop more people leaving.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

[Bbnivende]

Yes and no, if you want a physical keyboard and or you want a great business phone BlackBerry is the best choice. BlackBerry should be able to meet their 10 mill goal. Personally I have met my needs with android apps. My only complaint is that the camera software and hardware on my Z10 is only adequate. If they can lower their prices for their all touch phones to be competitive, they could do well in the prepaid market. Android apps are going to be the norm so we better get used to that. BlackBerry should have included real android apps in their store from the beginning . The reality is that most consumers want a basic phone that takes good pictures. If you are pounding out long emails I would definitely want a BlackBerry Classic.

[ubizmo]

My question is do you think Blackberry is still a brand that can bring in the average consumer? I do not use social networks but do have some apps and games on my device.

If you don't use social networks you're not an average consumer. My impression is that for a very large number of consumers (loosely defined as people who don't use their phones mainly for work-related activities), their smartphones are to a great extent social media portals. Social media are the contemporary incarnation of what we used to call "communication." But consumers vary in which social media they favor, and many routinely use several. So, to appeal to "the average consumer" in general, it's important to have all social media on board. And I take "social media" to include all the messaging platforms: BBM, WhatsApp, Kik, Google Hangouts, and so on. And they need to be as fully featured and functional as they are on other platforms. Consumers shouldn't feel they're settling for a sub-par social media experience because they're using a BlackBerry.

With that in mind, BlackBerry still has some distance to travel.

I'm not a big Facebook user, but I do have one friend who only uses FB Messenger for communication. It works fine for me, although I wish the font weren't so small. I have another friend who much prefers Google Hangouts, and that's a problem. I have the Google Talk app, but it's far from ideal. Anway, this isn't about me; it's about the extreme importance of having all the social media platforms available if BlackBerry wants to get into the consumer market.

There is no better way to handle email and communications in general than on my BlackBerry.

See above. "Communications in general" includes social media in a big way.

[Bbnivende]

I agree with your premise and yet nobody I know uses a messenger app just normal texting. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are the big three it seems. I would have BlackBerry preload the most common social media apps whether it be native or android. Instagram works well enough except for the lag using 10.2.1. I can't say about any others.

[BanffMoose]

This has devolved into an app gap discussion and away from the OP's question. For each of you who claim that BlackBerry needs this app or that app, reread the OP. The OP doesn't use those apps. There is a sizable portion of the population that also dies not use those apps. Then factor in comments from some here that say "one friend uses app1 to communicate while friend2 uses app2". If that's the case the BlackBerry user can ask those friends to use an app that is one the BlackBerry.

Point is YOU are not representative of the population as a whole. There is a good chunk of the population (especially those over 40) that do not use these apps. There's a good chunk of the population of smartphone users who won't do banking on the phone no matter what. BlackBerry can be for them.

[BanffMoose]

Darn CB app closed and posted by accident. Anyway, my point is that BlackBerry is already a good, viable choice for a decent portion of the population. And yeah, with more users it'll be more likely that there will be more support from developers.

[sentimentGX4]

Unfortunately, Blackberry breaks the most cardinal rule for being an alternative for everyday consumers. It is not available to purchase anywhere!

1/ BB10 is unavailable at practically all physical retailers in the US.
2/ There is no current (<1 yr old) Blackberry device officially supported by any of the major US cellular networks at this time.
3/ Supply of many models like the Passport or Verizon Z30 is intermittent and difficult to find online even for die-hard fans.

For Blackberry to be an alternative, a consumer must be able to find one to use. Even many fans are being forced off Blackberry.

[Tre Lawrence]

This has devolved into an app gap discussion and away from the OP's question. For each of you who claim that BlackBerry needs this app or that app, reread the OP. The OP doesn't use those apps. There is a sizable portion of the population that also dies not use those apps. Then factor in comments from some here that say "one friend uses app1 to communicate while friend2 uses app2". If that's the case the BlackBerry user can ask those friends to use an app that is one the BlackBerry.

Point is YOU are not representative of the population as a whole. There is a good chunk of the population (especially those over 40) that do not use these apps. There's a good chunk of the population of smartphone users who won't do banking on the phone no matter what. BlackBerry can be for them.

Interesting generalizations.

It goes beyond apps, IMHO. Apps are a major part of it, but "ecosystem" goes way beyond just apps.

In any case, the question isn't whether some people don't need apps. Ignoring the fact that those people, based on mindshare alone, would still probably pick another platform (no law states one must install apps on an iOS, WP8 or Android device, which are easier to procure to boot), the question is whether this segment is sizable enough for BBRY to be profitable.