[bakron1]

I was talking to several friends whom some are involved in the tech industry and we where all wondering where do we go from here forward?

We are down to two dominant operating systems Android and IOS and I don’t see any others who are willing to risk the capital and resources required to join the current titans who dominate the market.

I am still using a Key2 and a iPhone 11 Pro and it seems the only thing that’s changed in the past couple of upgrades have been processor speed and the camera. Nothing really has been revolutionary like the old days.

I know most everyone on this forum would love to see Blackberry get back into the smartphone game and come out with a model that’s been designed in house, but based on what I have seen the past few years, I don’t see that happening.

I know Android and IOS have come a long way since the early days, but I really haven’t seen nothing that’s made me really excited where I can’t wait to go out and buy the new model.

I know there are gamers and techies out there who are looking for the latest in VR and such, but for myself, I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

[Bay 13]

I was talking to several friends whom some are involved in the tech industry and we where all wondering where do we go from here forward?

We are down to two dominant operating systems Android and IOS and I don’t see any others who are willing to risk the capital and resources required to join the current titans who dominate the market.

I am still using a Key2 and a iPhone 11 Pro and it seems the only thing that’s changed in the past couple of upgrades have been processor speed and the camera. Nothing really has been revolutionary like the old days.

I know most everyone on this forum would love to see Blackberry get back into the smartphone game and come out with a model that’s been designed in house, but based on what I have seen the past few years, I don’t see that happening.

I know Android and IOS have come a long way since the early days, but I really haven’t seen nothing that’s made me really excited where I can’t wait to go out and buy the new model.

I know there are gamers and techies out there who are looking for the latest in VR and such, but for myself, I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

A 3rd OS may come from Huawei but it probably won't be be for the Western market. Where do we go from here? I will wait to see new products for 2020. I am waiting for Microsoft and Essential new phones to drop.

[Chuck Finley69]

I was talking to several friends whom some are involved in the tech industry and we where all wondering where do we go from here forward?

We are down to two dominant operating systems Android and IOS and I don’t see any others who are willing to risk the capital and resources required to join the current titans who dominate the market.

I am still using a Key2 and a iPhone 11 Pro and it seems the only thing that’s changed in the past couple of upgrades have been processor speed and the camera. Nothing really has been revolutionary like the old days.

I know most everyone on this forum would love to see Blackberry get back into the smartphone game and come out with a model that’s been designed in house, but based on what I have seen the past few years, I don’t see that happening.

I know Android and IOS have come a long way since the early days, but I really haven’t seen nothing that’s made me really excited where I can’t wait to go out and buy the new model.

I know there are gamers and techies out there who are looking for the latest in VR and such, but for myself, I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

It’s because you’re semi-retired, in Florida as snowbird and very bored.

That being said, I think you should venture over to closest bike shop, find a serious restore project and post a bunch of pictures of your next summer ride..... LOL

[conite]

The PC market eventually settled on two consumer OSes, and it's been like that for a long time. I expect the same in mobile.

The barrier to entry now is simply too big.

It will take a major paradigm shift away from handheld devices to cause a significant enough disruption to change that.

People really only care about content and accessories - not the underlying OS.

[bakron1]

It’s because you’re semi-retired, in Florida as snowbird and very bored.

That being said, I think you should venture over to closest bike shop, find a serious restore project and post a bunch of pictures of your next summer ride..... LOL

Lol, I prefer venturing onto a golf course and playing 18 holes

[the_boon]

Forget a third OS which costs billions, how about just something other than glass slabs...

[dangerousfen]

I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

I totally agree, I've got almost 10 years on you Bakron at 72, I loved those days. What a great team we were.

Oh well, such is life.

[Bbnivende]

I totally agree, I've got almost 10 years on you Bakron at 72, I loved those days. What a great team we were.

Oh well, such is life.

I miss the period June 2012 to June 2013 . What an interesting and exciting time here on CrackBerry. I set the alarm to get up for the famous NY introduction.

[Chuck Finley69]

Lol, I prefer venturing onto a golf course and playing 18 holes

That’s good too. Just remember to bundle up Monday and Tuesday as it’s supposed get in the 40s or so... LOL

[Thud Hardsmack]

I was talking to several friends whom some are involved in the tech industry and we where all wondering where do we go from here forward?

We are down to two dominant operating systems Android and IOS and I don’t see any others who are willing to risk the capital and resources required to join the current titans who dominate the market.

I am still using a Key2 and a iPhone 11 Pro and it seems the only thing that’s changed in the past couple of upgrades have been processor speed and the camera. Nothing really has been revolutionary like the old days.

I know most everyone on this forum would love to see Blackberry get back into the smartphone game and come out with a model that’s been designed in house, but based on what I have seen the past few years, I don’t see that happening.

I know Android and IOS have come a long way since the early days, but I really haven’t seen nothing that’s made me really excited where I can’t wait to go out and buy the new model.

I know there are gamers and techies out there who are looking for the latest in VR and such, but for myself, I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

Naw; I'm 43 and feel pretty much the same. Even before BB10 I was reloading the OS with a different BBOS hybrid (team Lyricidal) once or twice a week, either to improve performance or battery life or to check out a new feature. I miss how emphatic and lively things were back then but those arguments could get SO out of control.

[Troy Tiscareno]

New products come out, there's a big development curve and everyone is excited for the new thing for a while, and then things plateau - it happened with cars, it happened with flat-screen TVs, and it happened with smartphones. When 4 billion people have something, it's no longer going to be new and exciting like it was when only 100M people had it. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Where's the new form factor for TVs? Where's the huge excitement? No, people replace them when they're ready for a new one, but they're not the new exciting thing anymore. Still, we use them every day, and they get better every year, and a whole bunch of them get sold every year.

[R1R]

A 3rd OS may come from Huawei but it probably won't be be for the Western market. Where do we go from here? I will wait to see new products for 2020. I am waiting for Microsoft and Essential new phones to drop.

I'm 30 years old and around for something like 17/18 years and I agree 100% with your post!
It says exactly what I feel and what I keep telling my "old BlackBerry friends".

Innovations on the Smartphone market became boring and often unnecessary. Nothing exciting like back in the old days when there were real innovations and everything felt new and exciting (especially owning a BlackBerry)

Cheer

[Bay 13]

I'm 30 years old and around for something like 17/18 years and I agree 100% with your post!
It says exactly what I feel and what I keep telling my "old BlackBerry friends".

Innovations on the Smartphone market became boring and often unnecessary. Nothing exciting like back in the old days when there were real innovations and everything felt new and exciting (especially owning a BlackBerry)

Cheer

True statement. That is why I am hopeful Essential Gem will be a radical departure from the sea of slabs that currently dominate the market.

[the_boon]

New products come out, there's a big development curve and everyone is excited for the new thing for a while, and then things plateau - it happened with cars, it happened with flat-screen TVs, and it happened with smartphones. When 4 billion people have something, it's no longer going to be new and exciting like it was when only 100M people had it. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Where's the new form factor for TVs? Where's the huge excitement? No, people replace them when they're ready for a new one, but they're not the new exciting thing anymore. Still, we use them every day, and they get better every year, and a whole bunch of them get sold every year.

Asking why TV's don't have new exciting form factors is completely missing the point and a bad example.

A TV's sole purpose is to display media to an audience at a distance of a certain amount of feet. That's it.

Hence, a giant, flat rectangle makes sense and there is no reason to really change that. Sure, they can make pop-out TV's but that's about as far as it could go.

A smartphone can be used actively or passively.

Actively, by typing up an e-mail (where the PKB makes a case for itself)

or

Passively, by watching a video/movie, in which case the smartphone essentially becomes a compact version of a TV.

Hence why different form factors would make more sense depending on what uses a person has for their phones.

[conite]

Twenty-one years ago today:

[brookie229]

Innovations on the Smartphone market became boring and often unnecessary

Are you trying to tell us that "SLOWFIES" are not exciting, wonderful innovation!

[bh7171]

Are you trying to tell us that "SLOWFIES" are not exciting, wonderful innovation!

Dang! I almost launched hot coffee through my nasal cavity. I fondly remember my first BlackBerry 9000 and how I felt it untethered me from my laptop when traveling for my work back then as a player in the corporate dental insurance world. And the pros and cons of instant messaging through BBM and text. Of course handing out your PIN back then was like handing out a business card. Being older @ 47 and having grown up without all of the tech I am still questioning and weighing the pros and cons. I know we are never going back BUT those nights me and family ban tech and play games, go play some pick up soccer, go for a hike, or just hang out feel like magic. We are definitely trying to be much more conscious of our usage and time on said devices. As these have morphed more into ad vessels and consumption the less beneficial they have become for sheer communication devices and productivity.

[SteinwayTransitCorp]

I was talking to several friends whom some are involved in the tech industry and we where all wondering where do we go from here forward?

We are down to two dominant operating systems Android and IOS and I don’t see any others who are willing to risk the capital and resources required to join the current titans who dominate the market.

I am still using a Key2 and a iPhone 11 Pro and it seems the only thing that’s changed in the past couple of upgrades have been processor speed and the camera. Nothing really has been revolutionary like the old days.

I know most everyone on this forum would love to see Blackberry get back into the smartphone game and come out with a model that’s been designed in house, but based on what I have seen the past few years, I don’t see that happening.

I know Android and IOS have come a long way since the early days, but I really haven’t seen nothing that’s made me really excited where I can’t wait to go out and buy the new model.

I know there are gamers and techies out there who are looking for the latest in VR and such, but for myself, I miss the days when the forums where hopping and we couldn’t wait until the newest leak was released, so we could download it and flash our devices as soon as we got home.

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.

[Thud Hardsmack]

Also less new ideas because the weird and wild have been shown to not really get a market. When limited to a certain design there's only so many ideas one can have.

[idssteve]

Haha... Looks like I might be the "old geezer" here... Lol. Still, absence of product variety is hardly a valid indicator of market "maturity". Lol. My old eyes enjoy a 65" flat screen in my living room. Bedroom in RV has a 14"er. An old Bultaco serves me thru "old timers" Trials events. My old 850 Suzuki has seen every state & province attached to NA (including AK). Porsche or Prius gets me to the office. F350 crew cab dually gets me and crews to jobsites. Company's 18 wheeler gets equipment to jobsites and/or customers. Quite a LOT of variety in THOSE "mature" markets.

Walk in to a "phone" store... Gotta choice of huge, giant or gargantuan... ?? Some variety. Lol.

[phuoc]

Maybe it’s me because I am now 64 and I have been around since the early days and just miss the action when it seems there was something exciting around the corner every 6 months or so.[/QUOTE]

As a fellow 64 year old and longtime BB owner and retired, I feel for you.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Hence why different form factors would make more sense depending on what uses a person has for their phones.

The flaw in this argument is that one form factor has proven to be capable of doing everything, and there are several billion examples. That's why all the other form factors died off.

I grant you that a PKB is better for some people whose priority is a high volume of mobile typing, but that group has fallen to such a small number that major manufacturers can no longer profitability serve that niche, and even most people who prioritize typing have learned to be fast and efficient on a slab.

If you were a buggy manufacturer in 1915, no amount of lamenting would have prevented the internal combustion automobile from putting you out of business, and no amount of belief that horses and buggies were the right answer for transportation would have changed that. The world moved on.

[saint300]

The flaw in this argument is that one form factor has proven to be capable of doing everything, and there are several billion examples. That's why all the other form factors died off.

I grant you that a PKB is better for some people whose priority is a high volume of mobile typing, but that group has fallen to such a small number that major manufacturers can no longer profitability serve that niche, and even most people who prioritize typing have learned to be fast and efficient on a slab.

If you were a buggy manufacturer in 1915, no amount of lamenting would have prevented the internal combustion automobile from putting you out of business, and no amount of belief that horses and buggies were the right answer for transportation would have changed that. The world moved on.

Your point of view is really interesting. All that said though, there's still a niche (?) market that still wants PKB devices, as even the Titan project has shown.

Now, if the world moved on to slabs, is something to debate then. I mean, yes, all the stats are with you, but what about the other half?

[Laura Knotek]

Your point of view is really interesting. All that said though, there's still a niche (?) market that still wants PKB devices, as even the Titan project has shown.

Now, if the world moved on to slabs, is something to debate then. I mean, yes, all the stats are with you, but what about the other half?

There still are folks who use horses and buggies for transportation nowadays, but they are a tiny niche.

[saint300]

There still are folks who use horses and buggies for transportation nowadays, but they are a tiny niche.

This analogy is flawed with regards to what I said. Sorry about that!