Discuss the competitiveness of bb vs others

I thought to run a discussion on 6 major points of OS where we are generally not working enough and its very important
since it will be internal crackberry discussion (not verge or outside) so lets hope we get some discussions and let ppl of bb take care of the things mentioned.. i intentionally put some weak points that are very much important for a platform to be successful.

1) email Management
Android has Google
Windows (exchange)
ios (no file repository but includes everything above)
bb ( attachments viewer in a seperate repository, no google, but good file manager but not so good office documents editor)

2) NFC payments
android has wallet (again conventional)
ios has apple pay with touch id and different tech so that merchant or network cant see data)
windows (nothing :) )
bb has nfc payments( conventional way)

3) Apps
Google : almost every app but adverts versions and UI is not so good
Windows : chasing money power but quickly filling the gap, still pathetic.
Apps : paid apps and good UI
blackberry : some good native apps but largely apps dont function flawless when u port, not complete satisfaction in porting and some good ones are missing like work out apps and those require google service.

4) Maps
Google : best mapping soluton in google maps with integration to other google services
apple: ok solution but they have google maps too.
windows: nokia maps are good for some places, esp offline maps saving is good.
bb : most maps dont work fine in asian countries, but rest its ok solution.

5) open tech support:

google : supports all the protocols of open tech in vpn and p2p as well as SIP
apple: supports every open technologies
windows : not evaluated yet but again money back up
bb : NO only cisco and microsoft one.

6) Digital assistant

Google: google now (best, since it integrates with google services)
Siri : good too in making things done
bb: coming in bb 10.3 but dont know what it will do good
windows: cortana: fine.

the reason i said open technologies coz sometimes without having servers you will to have vpn from 3rd party providers, can configure SIP etc.

comments are very much appreciated

Add gadgets are not guaranteed to work on BlackBerry.

Smartwatches, car starters, garage openers, automated lights, etc.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Granrey

Add gadgets are not guaranteed to work on BlackBerry.

Smartwatches, car starters, garage openers, automated lights, etc.

Posted via CB10

yes true indeed, i dont get an idea of business phone merely because it has a keyboard, yes what do i appreciate is impeccable security, proven and gold standard. but what we really compromise is : fully functional business apps:
we dont have microsoft word (ok not a concern ms is not supporting), but what about their own office app, its pathetic to be true.
email management: well i can do much more on ios and google phones than bb phone namely: i can flawlessly connect to exchange servers which unfortunatly bb dont sync the whole things, neither way others have slower delivery time. i think everyone is at the same boat.

now which business person dont want to have a flawless mapping experience? there can be meetings i have to go and there might be some location i want to go for meeting? ask within yourself, is bb maps really competete on quality of service than google maps?

which business person dont wish to have a business apps like RDP, team viewer etc and if i travel internationally why cant our phone be SIP enabled (in open source tech), why our company apart from fortune 500 invest in taking bb servers or license where i have a really cost effective compelling open source tech in sip. NOT even bb encrypt the calls so why u r stuck with only few?

which business guy dont want an good contacts management in the mobile, sorry to say my pb is a total mess in bb and surprisingly i dont have good apps to refine it the way i want.

which business guy who is giving demo to a business team very far via screen share in tw and the demo is functional on mobile, so he has to screen share, in ios business ppl have Air server when they can replicate their mobiles on computer screen and can give demo, what we have? BBM?? does it holds good for businesses? now apple started continuty feature, what we are still on works.. bb link and new thing in bb10.3, does it really holds against continuity feature in ios8??

dont a business guy love to have a full browser which can automatically add the number of intrest from a visited website or say click a number and call or save the number?

the good things are awesome speakerphone and voice clarity but others dont offer very bad experience to be unusable.

Originally Posted by tabish4u

yes true indeed, i dont get an idea of business phone merely because it has a keyboard, yes what do i appreciate is impeccable security, proven and gold standard. but what we really compromise is : fully functional business apps:
we dont have microsoft word (ok not a concern ms is not supporting), but what about their own office app, its pathetic to be true.
email management: well i can do much more on ios and google phones than bb phone namely: i can flawlessly connect to exchange servers which unfortunatly bb dont sync the whole things, neither way others have slower delivery time. i think everyone is at the same boat.

now which business person dont want to have a flawless mapping experience? there can be meetings i have to go and there might be some location i want to go for meeting? ask within yourself, is bb maps really competete on quality of service than google maps?

which business person dont wish to have a business apps like RDP, team viewer etc and if i travel internationally why cant our phone be SIP enabled (in open source tech), why our company apart from fortune 500 invest in taking bb servers or license where i have a really cost effective compelling open source tech in sip. NOT even bb encrypt the calls so why u r stuck with only few?

which business guy dont want an good contacts management in the mobile, sorry to say my pb is a total mess in bb and surprisingly i dont have good apps to refine it the way i want.

which business guy who is giving demo to a business team very far via screen share in tw and the demo is functional on mobile, so he has to screen share, in ios business ppl have Air server when they can replicate their mobiles on computer screen and can give demo, what we have? BBM?? does it holds good for businesses? now apple started continuty feature, what we are still on works.. bb link and new thing in bb10.3, does it really holds against continuity feature in ios8??

dont a business guy love to have a full browser which can automatically add the number of intrest from a visited website or say click a number and call or save the number?

the good things are awesome speakerphone and voice clarity but others dont offer very bad experience to be unusable.

I don't understand your comment about Microsoft Word. We have native apps for word, excel, PowerPoint, etc. I have used them with no problem.

I don't understand the email server thing either. I would assume BlackBerry should be par or better.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Granrey

I don't understand your comment about Microsoft Word. We have native apps for word, excel, PowerPoint, etc. I have used them with no problem.

I don't understand the email server thing either. I would assume BlackBerry should be par or better.

Posted via CB10

Comments on work file didnt show up perfectly, like in our business we keep putting our comments on various points with a note.

Email server does pretty bad in syncing calenders and contacts. Prety much double entries and does not sysnc mail id associated with contacts, some comes up and some dont with ghost double contacts. Even mail sync has specific time frame.

Anyways i think apart from few bugs they are more or less fine but yeah some work has to be done before sayin its a best email client.
Gmail does not work at all so i wonder what i will do with my 8 year old email client. Coz dual authentication and sync service is not supported bt blackberry, neither they have an app to overcome.

BlackBerry is not competitive with any of the major players.

BlackBerry is now a niche device for a small group of consumers who place high value on the few things BlackBerry does better than others, namely security.

Other stuff.... it either doesn't matter, or BlackBerry is way behind. For example, instant mobile email used to be the killer app for BlackBerry and it's what put them on the map. In 2014, email just isn't as important as it used to be. There are multiple alternatives to instant text based communications. Keyboards? The vast majority of the smartphone public are either over it, or never had a BlackBerry to want it in the first place. Hundreds of millions of Chinese don't care about physical keyboards. After security, keyboards, and email, what else is there? Nothing substantial. That's what's going to keep them a niche player.

There is an obvious alternative for them, if they want to remain a handset maker and remain relevant. They can make Android handsets with their own custom thing to play on their strengths. Please let's not talk nonsense about how BlackBerry can't compete with the likes of Samsung and LG because of BlackBerry's lack of economies of scale. I can knock that entire argument down with one word; Xiaomi. Xiaomi is now China's largest smartphone seller. They didn't even exist as a company 5 years ago and their first product wasn't even released until 2nd half of 2011, or to put it in perspective, about 18 months before the Z10. They might sell close to 100 million phones this year. Not having those "economies of scale" didn't seem to hurt them none. Please don't talk about marketing either. Xiaomi spends almost NOTHING on marketing. It's all word of mouth. Please don't talk about carrier relationships. Xiaomi sells the vast majority of their phones directly, from their website. BlackBerry would do well to learn some lessons from Lee Jun and his "company that could." Basically, make a product people want, sell it cheap, and as famously stated in Field of Dreams, "they will come." "They" meaning customers.

As a final note, Xiaomi is rapidly expanding into SE Asian BlackBerry strongholds like Indonesia and India. Those markets were BlackBerry's to lose.....

Originally Posted by Roo Zilla

BlackBerry is not competitive with any of the major players.

BlackBerry is now a niche device for a small group of consumers who place high value on the few things BlackBerry does better than others, namely security.

Other stuff.... it either doesn't matter, or BlackBerry is way behind. For example, instant mobile email used to be the killer app for BlackBerry and it's what put them on the map. In 2014, email just isn't as important as it used to be. There are multiple alternatives to instant text based communications. Keyboards? The vast majority of the smartphone public are either over it, or never had a BlackBerry to want it in the first place. Hundreds of millions of Chinese don't care about physical keyboards. After security, keyboards, and email, what else is there? Nothing substantial. That's what's going to keep them a niche player.

There is an obvious alternative for them, if they want to remain a handset maker and remain relevant. They can make Android handsets with their own custom thing to play on their strengths. Please let's not talk nonsense about how BlackBerry can't compete with the likes of Samsung and LG because of BlackBerry's lack of economies of scale. I can knock that entire argument down with one word; Xiaomi. Xiaomi is now China's largest smartphone seller. They didn't even exist as a company 5 years ago and their first product wasn't even released until 2nd half of 2011, or to put it in perspective, about 18 months before the Z10. They might sell close to 100 million phones this year. Not having those "economies of scale" didn't seem to hurt them none. Please don't talk about marketing either. Xiaomi spends almost NOTHING on marketing. It's all word of mouth. Please don't talk about carrier relationships. Xiaomi sells the vast majority of their phones directly, from their website. BlackBerry would do well to learn some lessons from Lee Jun and his "company that could." Basically, make a product people want, sell it cheap, and as famously stated in Field of Dreams, "they will come." "They" meaning customers.

As a final note, Xiaomi is rapidly expanding into SE Asian BlackBerry strongholds like Indonesia and India. Those markets were BlackBerry's to lose.....

Very nice put up example of xiaomi, they are makingwawes where ever they go, infact i heard they were sell out 4 times in india in mere 5 seconds in flash sale.
I would like to add up wats app.. A 4 year old msg company sold in 18 bill dollars.. I think 3 times d size of bb... I never saw any advert or anything .. It has spread through phone book migration and good service.
I think bb has too many things and failed to refine a single thing. Wats app is just a msg app we had bbm way back so it does not hold good if we say our OS is new etc.. What about bbm...

Originally Posted by tabish4u

I 1)
2) NFC payments

windows (nothing :) )

3) Apps
Google : almost every app but adverts versions and UI is not so good
Windows : chasing money power but quickly filling the gap, still pathetic.
Apps : paid apps and good UI
blackberry : some good native apps but largely apps dont function flawless when u port, not complete satisfaction in porting and some good ones are missing like work out apps and those require google service.



5) open tech support:

windows : not evaluated yet but again money back up

6) Digital assistant

windows: cortana: fine.

2) Windows Phone 8 onwards does have NFC payments but its up to the operator and hardware to support it but the OS supports it via Wallet and the shops app.
3) Third party apps are pretty good on Windows but first party ones are lacking in quality and quantity.
5) Windows supports VPN in the forms of corporate and non corporate protocols in 8.1.1.
6) Cortana is very good contextually and has a personality so a mix of Google Now and Siri.