[_StephenBB81]

If BGR report from today is true I guess BIS/BES aren't going to matter bc they don't work with BB10 (yet?). They have had QNX for almost two years and its still not working. Hope they get those bugs worked out!

I very much think that was an exageration on BGR's part and I even wrote a rebuttal on N4BB.com about it.

I am sure they don't have everything ready yet, but with PlayBook OS2 working on BES using Mobile fusion I can't see how they don't have BBX running yet, and they are sharing a lot of the development from the PlayBook OS tree,

[bradman16]

Why doesn't RIM market the security and privacy and un-hackability of these phones? I have used a BB for a decade and I think the time is right for a marketing campaign that stresses the end-users privacy? For example, you can't track someone as easily as you can if they are using an Android or Apple device, and the encryption etc etc...all of it, find a way to package that up and sell it to the masses. Don't leave those details as implied or common knowledge. Not everyone sits around researching encryption or how it even affects them, or just privacy in general, but I think people are getting the idea now that it IS important. I am not 100% up on this as I once was, but if there are things that are lacking in that area, then fix them. Also, including an app/option that enables users to SEE what is running on the phone and EASILY turn that off. It's not user friendly - I know how to do these things, and most of you also do, but the average person does not. It has to be powerful and yet intuitive in my opinion.

[s7khan]

The date is January 1st, 2012.

Fire Mike and Jim. Ask if the head of Android or the head of Apple would like a challenge and become the Lee Iacocca of technology and bring them in to run it. Quit. If the company can't be saved, it's reached a point of no return.

[PineappleUnderTheSea]

Here's my doom and gloom scenario:
(1) It's 2014. Most major North American and European companies have now moved the bulk of manufacturing and innovation to Asia so they can keep churning out double digit growth every quarter, some even moving their headquarters there to gain favors from the local governments so they can expand their facilities more quickly.

(2) But local salaries and inflation in Asia have escalated beyond any reasonable plans that were made in 2011/2012, which causes Asia to grow at a much lower expected rate. Drastic cost cutting has become the favor of the year. The first thing that goes is giving away free Blackberries to the bulk of employees and getting rid of BES. Employees will now have to bring in their own device, and IT will install a security protocol from the many options now offered for cheap. Companies may give employees a small monthly allowance, upper management will be able to expense fully.

(3) Employees bring in iPhones and Androids. BBs are a small percentage of the phones brought in.

(4) RIM is now forced to focus on pushing BES on more specialized companies that truly value security, becoming a niche market in a world where the average user is willing to give up their social security number for the chance to win a free Angry Bird app.

(5) RIM, realizing that high growth in emerging markets has not led to high profitability, and seeing BES slowly being displaced in enterprise due to cost factors, decides to reimagine how the smartphone needs to be built, and how it needs to communicate with its user. It invests serious capital to buy new tooling equipment that will allow molding and assembly to be performed in a couple of steps, thus becoming the lost cost leader. This new tooling allows 3 or 4 different models to be made, each priced at varying levels of profit depending on their end market.

(6) As for how to reimagine how the phones would set a new benchmark in communication, I guess I'm not imaginative enough, I know that I would like full versions of Office, better sharing of info and documents in "real time", and elimination of insane roaming charges when I travel internationally...maybe RIM could somehow partner globally with carriers to make these costs part of your normal monthly plan?

[E92Vancouver]

.....and elimination of insane roaming charges when I travel internationally...maybe RIM could somehow partner globally with carriers to make these costs part of your normal monthly plan?

I travel internationally a lot and this is what forced me to get an Android Nexus One. It was an unlocked phone and when I got to my overseas destination, I would buy a prepaid data SIM card at an airport kiosk and within 5 minutes I had a local number and email. And the costs of these cards is insanely cheap. $60 for 6 GB. And the Nexus had wifi hotspot so I could give my laptop a wifi connection. Thank you Google for doing this.

When travelling abroad, I have never been able to use my Blackberry this way because carriers don't sell prepaid BIS/BES plans. This is one weakness of Blackberry.

One of my friends went to the UK with his Canadian Blackberry and rang up $5,000 in data charges. The carrier wouldn't give him a break but they did make a deal that if he paid the bill, they would give him a $5,000 credit after he involved his lawyers.

[CDM76]

I like the 4 phone approach: Bold, Full Touch, Torch, and low cost Curve.

EXACTLY what I was thinking.
This thread is an interesting idea and some good suggestions are out there. Lets hope the boys and gals in Waterloo are listening !!!

My Top 10 ideas:

1. 4 phone line. They would be the Bold, Torch slider, Full Touch Screen, and the Curve.
1 tablet. It would of course be the 7" Playbook2.

All phones would have : touch screen, Android emulator, dual facing cameras (bold would have HD cameras),NFC, wi-fi hotspot.

2. Increase the R&D budget. I want innovative new ideas so would also remove some of the people who are "in the way" of this innovation. By innovative I don't mean wi-fi hot spots or rear-facing cameras or finally having video messaging (it is expected they should have those by 2014 !); I am looking for innovative ideas such as the Android emulator ! Push R&D to decrease the data transmitted so customers use less data by using BlackBerries (this should be marketed to consumers and carriers ). The browser is one of the most used programs and as such should be the best browser of any phone. It should have simple stable connection and seemlessly transfer from wifi to network and back.


3. If not already done I'm firing the marketing company and hiring a new one. This will look at hiring some big name spokes persons (such as Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber - he would help bring that early teen market ! ) and ensuring our phones are used exclusively in some of the hottest hit new shows (like GMC has done with Hawaii 5-0) and a few movies as well. Ads on TV and popular websites (facebook, ebay, etc) will improve. North America will be the initial target of this improved marketing, and slowly rolling it out to other parts of the world. Sell the data efficiency to carriers as saving them millions in bandwidth.

Better managing the media will fall under the new marketing philosophy.

4. Review our developer relations. Ensure the budget and resources are sufficient to give the developers the tools they need / want. Ensure our developer relations are such that they WANT to develop for our systems. Ensure the developers have the tools they need to create the best apps out there. I'd have no problems greasing the wheels to get more apps from Rovio, EA and a few others.

5. Institute Jack WELCH's philosophy of firing the 10% worst managers each year. The turn over is good to constantly bring in new employees with new ideas. This wouldn't just get rid of the non-productive people but also the ones who are interfering with the workers below them. Attitude reflects leadership - If morale is bad in a department the manager of that unit will be held accountable.

6.Review employee training program. This program should encompass everyone from the software and hardware engineers to the designers and sale persons. The program will be flexible to allow different types of training for different fields.

7. Refuse to announce or discuss any new developments until they are ready for market. When new devices and / or features are revealed would pull all strings available to get the reveals plastered on the web, tv, newspaper.

8. License BBM to Apple ( and Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, HTC, etc) - if they are interested. Free access to the software but they pay to use our servers. Spin this in media as offering BBM free to competitors.

9. Implement a school rebate program for Playbooks. School Boards can buy 'subsidized' playbooks for classroom use. Teachers (all levels) can buy subsidized playbooks. As a promotion give out a few thousand free playbooks to highschool students in Canada and USA.

10. Give myself a raise. I can't work for $1.00 Cdn a year !!!


CDM

[E92Vancouver]

Some really good suggestions here. I hope Jim and Mike know about Crackberry and the forums.

Whenever they are on their Investor Conference Calls, they always say "If anyone has any suggestions, we are listening". This is not exactly a confidence inspiring comment, but here are some suggestions. Start listening!!!

[E92Vancouver]

One major point!!! Where is the advertising budget??? I love the Samsung attack ads on iphones. The Samsung ads almost make you feel like a stupid loser to want an iphone.

If you haven't seen this Samsung ad, it is brilliant!!!! It is a beautiful attack on the Apple iphone. Here it is:

[YT]www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VHzNEWIqA[/YT]

[kraski]

One major point!!! Where is the advertising budget??? I love the Samsung attack ads on iphones. The Samsung ads almost make you feel like a stupid loser to want an iphone.

If you haven't seen this Samsung ad, it is brilliant!!!! It is a beautiful attack on the Apple iphone. Here it is:

It's funny and any geek non-iFanboy will enjoy it. But attack ads seem to work for a short period, then you need to move on to some other form of advertising or it seem petty to the viewer. And it also depends on how strong the advertiser is in the viewers' mind. Where that may work for Samsung, I'm not sure that the perception of RIM might not just take it directly to being seen as petty. What we know about Blackberries is not how most of the public sees them. Samsung tweaking the iPhone & other Android phones is like the battle of the titans. Blackberry vs anything else is more like David vs Goliath, only nobody else realizes yet that we're David and we win.

[joehack]

1. Replace the management. Jim, Mike have not got anything right in the recent past.
2. Make the company less US (or North America) centric. Marketing does not really approach the customers abroad. Maybe the marketing should be let go as well.
3. Focus on what RIM is really good at. That's secure communication.
4. Drop OS development! I don't see the current OS as a master piece of engineering. QNX is a great base, but the fact that we are still talking about delays shows that there something fundamentally wrong.
5. Rollout a hardened Android (or whatever) version for your hardware.
6. If it pays out, continue to develop hardware.

[NJPhilliesPhan]

I would get rid of all phones that look like the Bold and Curve. And concentrate on sleek touch screen devices that will attract the new generation.

[TgeekB]

I would get rid of all phones that look like the Bold and Curve. And concentrate on sleek touch screen devices that will attract the new generation.

Why not both?

[jamesbondOO7]

Move the company to an attractive place like California. If they have to stay in Canada, at least move to Vancouver.

[E92Vancouver]

Move the company to an attractive place like California. If they have to stay in Canada, at least move to Vancouver.

That's a wicked idea!!! Who the wants to live in Waterloo? How can they attract top talent with that address?

[emirozmen]

Do the opposite of what they are doing now. It can't be worse...

[Lead_Express]

I would get rid of all phones that look like the Bold and Curve. And concentrate on sleek touch screen devices that will attract the new generation.

then where does a guy like me go to get his QWERTY fix? To lose the physical keyboard alienates the biggest share of users. That would be the fastest way to sink the entire ship! I know that monster touchscreens are an "in" thing right now in America but a large chunk of planet Earth still likes keypads: I know I do.

[_StephenBB81]

then where does a guy like me go to get his QWERTY fix? To lose the physical keyboard alienates the biggest share of users. That would be the fastest way to sink the entire ship! I know that monster touchscreens are an "in" thing right now in America but a large chunk of planet Earth still likes keypads: I know I do.

But the center of the world in the US, and nothing else matters, only old people want keyboards,



/S

[peak 4pple]

1 stop talking about BB10 until Playbook is redeemed

2 make Bold line-up exclusive again. Top of the line business device. Partner with Cisco (Cius, WebEx) and Microsoft (office, sharepoint). Lock apple out of the business market- shed the "dinosaur" perception

3 create different brand for torch and touch sreeen devices. Focus on the apps and games

[alnamvet68]

Spent a couple of days in NYC last week to check on a co-op I've been renting out, and couldn't help notice how many Blackberry phones were in the hands of so many people, young and mature, professionals and students...I lost count how many PlayBooks I saw. When I did see an Apple device, it seemed the owners had wall to wall tattoos and a hundred plus body piercings. Yes, I imagine the artsy fartsy counter-culture loves Apple, but those in the know prefer the timeless design and real world functioning of the QWERTY keyboard on their phones. Even my 17 year old said the iPhone is like a Barbie doll...you have to have one or a dozen, but after a very short period of time, one tires of the boredom that is typical of all "must have" toys. She now wants to know how we (yes, me too) can get rid of our iPhones and get the Bold without a major penalty.

[LoganSix]

No it doesn't

It works adequately, I would pay $30ish for MS Office on my BlackBerry and PlayBook and be more than excited for the chance to do so

I've had no problem opening any MS Office 2010 Docs, Excel or PPT on my PlayBook. But frankly, I would prefer standardized documents that can be shared anywhere instead of relying on whether or not the person I'm sending the document to has the latest version of Office.

[_StephenBB81]

I've had no problem opening any MS Office 2010 Docs, Excel or PPT on my PlayBook. But frankly, I would prefer standardized documents that can be shared anywhere instead of relying on whether or not the person I'm sending the document to has the latest version of Office.

Excel - Playbook doesn't handle pivot tables, nor macro's, and moving between workbooks is combersom at best,
Powerpoint- can't view embedded video files, can't view embedded annimations, and often crashes with BIG presentations,

I still love my Playbook, but D2G has limitations that Office for Playbook hopefully would not have

[[email protected]]

But the center of the world in the US, and nothing else matters, only old people want keyboards,



/S

We do purchase a great many phones.

[SC457]

In my opinion they're doing, Bold 9900 is my ideal phone and they're already working on making it better with OS7.1. Just need to refine and get back the market share by marketing their new products, which I think is one of the first things the new CEO is already doing.

To me the Bold series is the flagship BlackBerry and always should be. Bold is business and performance, touch screens are okay, not for me but make a great one for that market.