[elfabio80]

Cylance alone has over 1000 employees. That's on top of BlackBerry's 4000.

Don't forget, they still do about a billion dollars in sales. The few million in handset licencing is just noise.

Sorry....forgot to mention without Cylance....

[elfabio80]

BlackBerry Limited has about 4K employees according to public filings. I’m sure you mean the mobile BBAndroid and BB10 division and that’s not public disclosure. I’d suspect less than 50 though.

To me they seems too much. Do you have any document official? This would be really interesting.

About BB Android/BB10 maybe with 50 you are optimist... Lol!! I agree with you that they are probably very few....

[the_boon]

Probably because BB (without chance) is really small....maybe 150 or 200 people working there? It would be interesting to know how many people are still employed by BB.

What does the employee count have to do with BB licensing/selling their keyboard patents which would generate SOME revenue as opposed to letting them sit there, generating ZERO revenue?

[Chuck Finley69]

To me they seems too much. Do you have any document official? This would be really interesting.

About BB Android/BB10 maybe with 50 you are optimist... Lol!! I agree with you that they are probably very few....

The actual numbered p 16 in the actual document

https://www.blackberry.com/content/d...nformation.pdf

[bb10adopter111]

What does the employee count have to do with BB licensing/selling their keyboard patents which would generate SOME revenue as opposed to letting them sit there, generating ZERO revenue?

I'm sure they'll entertain any offers, but there is overhead even for licensing deals so it would have to be worth their while in terms of profit margins. They won't do it for a few hundred thousand dollars, but they would do it for a few hundred million. Somewhere in between is a number they would accept. My guess is they would want at least $5-10 million a year.

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.

[Chuck Finley69]

The biggest reason for setting a minimum value is that below a certain price, it affects the pricing BB charges on any other deals for it’s various IP on the books. It can also devalue any future claims for IP violations against companies stealing IP from the various companies or divisions under the BlackBerry umbrella.

[the_boon]

The biggest reason for setting a minimum value is that below a certain price, it affects the pricing BB charges on any other deals for it’s various IP on the books. It can also devalue any future claims for IP violations against companies stealing IP from the various companies or divisions under the BlackBerry umbrella.

I'm really not sure where you're pulling this from...

Do we really think BB is going to be "devalued" in the eyes of other companies just because they saw that TCL paid them little money for their keyboard patents?

In 2019, it would be a miracle that ANYONE would be interested in paying BB ANYTHING for those keyboard patents, in an era when most companies wouldn't even use them if they were given them for free.

[Chuck Finley69]

I'm really not sure where you're pulling this from...

Do we really think BB is going to be "devalued" in the eyes of other companies just because they saw that TCL paid them little money for their keyboard patents?

In 2019, it would be a miracle that ANYONE would be interested in paying BB ANYTHING for those keyboard patents, in an era when most companies wouldn't even use them if they were given them for free.

BB has an IP unit demanding certain amount for licensing IP as well as chasing non-paying infringement cases.

Additionally, $10USD for each device sold with $1 million USD minimum for instance? Too much too little? How much is BB demanding in current lawsuits per user for patent infringement?

[skstrials]

I think I am one of the few users that make use of the BlackBerry software that comes with these phones. I make use of BlackBerry Hub, calendar, password keeper, launcher, and the keyboard it comes with (on vkb BlackBerry Androids).

At this point, I am just used to BlackBerry keyboard (both pkb and vkb) as well as the BlackBerry software, so I think I will just stay with BlackBerry branded phones for now. They add enough value to me.

[Tsepz_GP]

Nobody has yet mentioned the blue dot notifier which stops BB users looking like every other idiot, constantly checking for messages. It is elegant beyond belief and I will die without it.

Next up is Hub which, combined with search makes a BB user with a big, multi-faceted life infinitely more efficient than someone using any of the competition.

Then the possibility to choose how emails are displayed, including to have sent emails displayed separately.

And then of course the PKB.....as well as DTEK, battery life, rubber back.

I simply cannot believe that KEy2 and Key2LE are going to disappear. There is simply nothing else in the market place that does half of the jobs half as well as BB.

Who needs a notification light when my watch gives me all notifications ? I don’t even need to pull out my phone, I just check my watch, I can even accept meeting invites right on my watch and keep on going. Keep your Notification light that still needs you to pick up the phone to action anything

You can install BB Hub in most Androids from why I remember.

Battery life is an area BB fell behind long ago, pretty much every mid end and flagship since 2017 has large batteries with fast charging that can easily do 2 days, depending on usage of course.

DTEK features pretty much exist in the latest build of Android and iOS, with controls over what apps get access to as well.

PKB and Rubber Back, you can definitely have those.

[chain13]

are there any smartphone with android one? functionality limited?

All nokia androids are android one. Xiaomi Mi A lines are also android one. There is one more worth mentioning, asus zenfone Max series (Max and Max pro). They're stock android, not android one, but Asus gives then better OS updates/upgrades.

So maybe it would have been better if TCL paid BBL only for the PKB patents and then enrolled in Android One so that their costs would have been reduced, instead of paying BBL for BBAndroid which almost no one values or cares about.

Or pay nothing at all. They could come with their own pkb design. No capacitive, no double typing, no wobbling keys, no fancy. This way they could avoid blackberry tax and make their devices cheaper

The only thing we can hope for is that TCL is STILL interested in the PKB patents but without the burden of the BBAndroid tax.

This is what I think. BBtax is wasteful. Come with their own pkb design, let google handle the OS (android one).

[TgeekB]

Who needs a notification light when my watch gives me all notifications ? I don’t even need to pull out my phone, I just check my watch, I can even accept meeting invites right on my watch and keep on going.

Some of us don’t want a smart watch. I still prefer a mechanical watch.

[TgeekB]

Or pay nothing at all. They could come with their own pkb design. No capacitive, no double typing, no wobbling keys, no fancy. This way they could avoid blackberry tax and make their devices cheaper.

If they felt there was a market for them I’m sure they would. I would love a PKB phone from Nokia. I doubt we’ll ever see one though.

[Chuck Finley69]

All nokia androids are android one. Xiaomi Mi A lines are also android one. There is one more worth mentioning, asus zenfone Max series (Max and Max pro). They're stock android, not android one, but Asus gives then better OS updates/upgrades.



Or pay nothing at all. They could come with their own pkb design. No capacitive, no double typing, no wobbling keys, no fancy. This way they could avoid blackberry tax and make their devices cheaper



This is what I think. BBtax is wasteful. Come with their own pkb design, let google handle the OS (android one).

If they felt there was a market for them I’m sure they would. I would love a PKB phone from Nokia. I doubt we’ll ever see one though.

The biggest reason for the BBTax and the whole bundling of everything in the licensing costs was BB has years of trend data. I’m fairly certain BB executives including Chen, understood that one time maximum cash grab was the only real play. The BB Value Meal is sales model that forces consumption since long term sales trend is ultimately slowing down. It’s literally a food sales technique quick serve restaurants embraced from the carnival food businesses and other destination type businesses from 60s and 70s era.

[Tsepz_GP]

Some of us don’t want a smart watch. I still prefer a mechanical watch.

Yep, totally get that, I was highlighting that a Notification LED is not the be all and end all for knowing when you have Notifications.

But regarding mechanical watches, I have had my fair share of them, mostly Fossil and Fastina watches, absolutely loved them but I always forgot about them overtime.

I never thought I’d like smart watches, but then early this year I got a Huawei Band Pro 2 that was more of a fitness tracker with notifications functionality and I was instantly hooked at how convenient it was to see a glimpse of what was going on without touching my phone even if it’s in another room e.g. if I had a meeting to be at, had a text or a Instagram comment or even a calendar event like a Birthday at that point I knew I had to get a fully functional smart watch

I am absolutely loving my Apple Watch, I can leave my iPhone in another room e.g. when going out on Friday nights after work I always first drop my car off at home before I go out drinking. So I get home, put my phone on the entrance table, go to my room, change and while changing I request the Uber on my Apple Watch, carry on getting ready, maybe faf around a little and get my iPhone to play music (controlling it with my watch, it then auto plays through the BT loudspeaker that auto connects to my iPhone when I turn it on), when the Uber arrives I get the notification on my Watch, head to the door and simply grab my iPhone on the way out. All that without touching my phone, convenience on a whole other level. I can never go back to a mechanical watch after having more computing power on my wrist than most smartphones from the early 2000s

[TgeekB]

Yep, totally get that, I was highlighting that a Notification LED is not the be all and end all for knowing when you have Notifications.

But regarding mechanical watches, I have had my fair share of them, mostly Fossil and Fastina watches, absolutely loved them but I always forgot about them overtime.

I never thought I’d like smart watches, but then early this year I got a Huawei Band Pro 2 that was more of a fitness tracker with notifications functionality and I was instantly hooked at how convenient it was to see a glimpse of what was going on without touching my phone even if it’s in another room e.g. if I had a meeting to be at, had a text or a Instagram comment or even a calendar event like a Birthday at that point I knew I had to get a fully functional smart watch

I am absolutely loving my Apple Watch, I can leave my iPhone in another room e.g. when going out on Friday nights after work I always first drop my car off at home before I go out drinking. So I get home, put my phone on the entrance table, go to my room, change and while changing I request the Uber on my Apple Watch, carry on getting ready, maybe faf around a little and get my iPhone to play music (controlling it with my watch, it then auto plays through the BT loudspeaker that auto connects to my iPhone when I turn it on), when the Uber arrives I get the notification on my Watch, head to the door and simply grab my iPhone on the way out. All that without touching my phone, convenience on a whole other level. I can never go back to a mechanical watch after having more computing power on my wrist than most smartphones from the early 2000s

Very cool. They certainly have a place in the watch world. I can see a lot of medical uses for them also and this will increase as the technology advances.
For me, I’ll just keep my phone close and my Nomos Tangente (or other mechanical watch) on my wrist, unless I suddenly develop cardiac issues I want to monitor closely and then I might have to compromise.

[Tsepz_GP]

Very cool. They certainly have a place in the watch world. I can see a lot of medical uses for them also and this will increase as the technology advances.
For me, I’ll just keep my phone close and my Nomos Tangente (or other mechanical watch) on my wrist, unless I suddenly develop cardiac issues I want to monitor closely and then I might have to compromise.

Indeed. I think mechanical watches are going to become more collectible overtime to, wish I had kept some of mine.

[Gene Fells]

Some of us don’t want a smart watch. I still prefer a mechanical watch.

Why wear a watch at all. Time and Date functions are duplicated on all phones. Why dual carry.

[TgeekB]

Why wear a watch at all. Time and Date functions are duplicated on all phones. Why dual carry.

Much like has been stated, when the phone is in your pocket you can see the time without pulling it out.
Also, for me, there is a joy in wearing such a mechanically advanced device such a watch. My Zenith El Primero, for instance, has a movement with over 175 parts. Amazing.

[Gene Fells]

Much like has been stated, when the phone is in your pocket you can see the time without pulling it out.
Also, for me, there is a joy in wearing such a mechanically advanced device such a watch. My Zenith El Primero, for instance, has a movement with over 175 parts. Amazing.

I understand your reasons. I had my 25 year old Swiss Sector stripped and the body / band polished. My tech driven son now wears it proudly because he can see no value / benefit in the current smart watch offerings. I hope he hands it down to his children as a relic on a by gone era.

I have other watches and they sit in drawers gathering dust. I'm retired and live in a hot climate. The need to check time constantly is as important to me as avoiding a constant sweaty, black wrist.

[Chuck Finley69]

I’ve read somewhere that one movement a day is a minimum. Also if dual carry watch and phone, what if dual carrying two phones? One watch or two? Quad carry?

Is Rolex still a thing or is that now just for old guys? Which has more cachet, Rolex or bejeweled Apple Watch for instance?

[TgeekB]

I understand your reasons. I had my 25 year old Swiss Sector stripped and the body / band polished. My tech driven son now wears it proudly because he can see no value / benefit in the current smart watch offerings. I hope he hands it down to his children as a relic on a by gone era.

I have other watches and they sit in drawers gathering dust. I'm retired and live in a hot climate. The need to check time constantly is as important to me as avoiding a constant sweaty, black wrist.

We all have priorities.

[TgeekB]

I’ve read somewhere that one movement a day is a minimum. Also if dual carry watch and phone, what if dual carrying two phones? One watch or two? Quad carry?

Is Rolex still a thing or is that now just for old guys? Which has more cachet, Rolex or bejeweled Apple Watch for instance?

Rolex is still very popular. There are also many micro brands making watches. I don’t want to get too far off topic though.

[bb10adopter111]

I’ve read somewhere that one movement a day is a minimum.

I know I always feel better after a good movement. Wait....what are we talking about?

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.

[bh7171]

I’ve read somewhere that one movement a day is a minimum. Also if dual carry watch and phone, what if dual carrying two phones? One watch or two? Quad carry?

Is Rolex still a thing or is that now just for old guys? Which has more cachet, Rolex or bejeweled Apple Watch for instance?

I love my Rolex GMT Master "Pepsi" version my dad gave me for my 27th birthday. 20 years later and it's as phenomenal as the first day. Value seems to be increasing. My 11 year old son loves aeronautical things. I very much look forward to handing it off to him as he starts his career, whatever that might be? Smart watches (I have a Versa) are ok. But irrespective of what anyone says their battery life SUCKS. I also have a great Casio G Shock that is solar and atomic time keeping. When a smart watch is solar powered they will be infinitely more useful.