[nickthebold]

Okay so I'm part of Gen Y (20 years old) and I recently was thinking about anyone i know who has a blackberry. Not really to my surprise not ONE person I know has a blackberry (and without trying to look arrogant or egotistical) I do know A Lot of people obviously being young and spending a lot of my time socialising. Now this thought begun to somehow manifest itself into the death of blackberry and here's why.

Blackberry was king of mobile phones around a decade ago (read that a number of times and no, not in c rack berry) until they stopped innovating and let apple and android take over.
Now I can safely say that the majority of blackberry users are probably baby boomers and business people who were with blackberry from the very beginning and from the very beginning it simply just worked for them (and still does). Well what I think is happening is that everyone born from 1995 onwards took up their stereotype nokia colour phone for their first handset and then moved onto the apple craze.(assuming most kids don't get a mobile phone until at least 10-12 years old).

Now, these users are exactly what you old blackberry times used to be, you both found a phone that everyone at the time is /was using and because it worked/works for you, you will continue to stay faithful.


A good example to explain this concept is imessage and BBM. I've never used BBM once in my 2 years of owning a blackberry, simply because everyone i know has an iphone (few with androids but meh) however most BlackBerry users probably use BBM because they grew up with it with the rest of the user base who still use blackberry.


This thread is supposed to raise the question of what blackberry is going to do in the future to appeal to a generation who have 90% locked in apple and android as their faithful phone brand for the rest of their life.


I think it's time BlackBerry begin to really push marketing towards the younger generation and chill abit on the business side of things. The only way BlackBerry will survive in the long run is by getting people from gen y and especially gen Z on board now.

What do you guys think am I making some sense?

Posted via CB10

[devinthomas]

The one problem you have is you think today's youth could be 90% locked into anything. The youth of today are not loyal they flip from one thing to the next faster then any generation ever has. They will praise you one minute and then throw you to the wolves the next. I'd like to think of apple as the spice Girls and blackberry as pearl Jam, longevity is key.

Posted via CB10

[nickthebold]

You make a point but can you honestly see the youth my generation moving to blackberry as if it's the new Apple? Answer honestly.
Your point is valid for a number of fads and stuff but phones aren't a fad, you can't honestly say that iphone and androids are just a fad that will pass...
Posted via CB10

[darkehawke]

In the UK the blackberry is king amongst the younger generation. Retaining them is the trick though.
Bb10 is a start, but there is still a long way to go

Posted via CB10

[nickthebold]

In the UK the blackberry is king amongst the younger generation. Retaining them is the trick though.
Bb10 is a start, but there is still a long way to go

Posted via CB10

That's really interesting and pleasing to know. Here in Australia BlackBerrys are never seen. I can't believe ill say this but I'm actually sick of taking my z10 out and people being all "Omg what's that!? ... oh its not an iphone don't Worry" lol

Posted via CB10

[robtanz]

I have thought this often too. But in today's tech age I really think that it is too hard to predict what will be hot and trendy for the youts. When my 70 year mother got an iPhone so she "could take pictures" I got a sense that Apple was peaking and I think it has. If I know anything about younger people is that they like to be different from the older generation. Maybe in your neck of the woods they might start choosing Blackberry.

[bmercer94]

Where I live, it's apple for the younger generation, then android for high school kids and above. And a surprising amount of BlackBerry. I know one person locally with a Z10, another with a 9320 two 9900s, a 9800, but I've also seen an 8100z some more 9300s, and a 9780. Perhaps it Just because of where I am, but BlackBerry is still there. Where I live its apple first, android second, then BlackBerry. I've yet to see anyone using A windows phone. Rogers doesn't have service here so anyone with a 920 would be unable to use their phone here and most likely wouldn't be showing it off.

Powered by BlackBerry 10

[Soul-Eater]

In my opinion, the blackberry is the phone of the gen y! I'm using BlackBerry since 2009 and don't even regret a single day with them. With my Z10 I've bought my 5th blackberry and can do my social stuff much better than every iphone ever does.

If you say your grandmother is using an iphone for taking pictures or other media functionalities, than only because so many people say it's a high quality phone.
Maybe she knows that from commercial ads.

In the gen y, blackberry will increase their market influence.

I've showed my Z10 some apple fan boys and they will dumb their iphones for a blackberry. Not only because of the great keyboard.

All from the gen y!




Posted via CB10

[pandapurple]

Remember that it was through BBM that the young rioters planned their looting during the London riots.



Posted via CB10

[walt63]

In my opinion, the blackberry is the phone of the gen y! I'm using BlackBerry since 2009 and don't even regret a single day with them. With my Z10 I've bought my 5th blackberry and can do my social stuff much better than every iphone ever does.

If you say your grandmother is using an iphone for taking pictures or other media functionalities, than only because so many people say it's a high quality phone.
Maybe she knows that from commercial ads.

In the gen y, blackberry will increase their market influence.

I've showed my Z10 some apple fan boys and they will dumb their iphones for a blackberry. Not only because of the great keyboard.

All from the gen y!




Posted via CB10

You took the words right out of my mouth. Plus as long as you can instagram, tweet, post, Skype, and text, there's always a chance to get attention from the younger demographic. If BlackBerry can get their "app" together, I believe that the tide will turn as that's what drives the mobile consumer base.

Posted via CB10

[nickthebold]

You took the words right out of my mouth. Plus as long as you can instagram, tweet, post, Skype, and text, there's always a chance to get attention from the younger demographic. If BlackBerry can get their "app" together, I believe that the tide will turn as that's what drives the mobile consumer base.

Posted via CB10

Hahaha their "App" together, that's a new one and good one might I say

Posted via CB10

[nextlevel88]

You can't honestly say that iphone and androids are just a fad that will pass...
Posted via CB10

Someone, somewhere, sometime along the line has said that about every fad that's ever passed...

Posted via CB10

[dbmalloy]

It is not just a case of being fickle... it is the herd mentality....Where I live the teens primary phone has been Iphone... why?? because it is better..no .. because their friends use them... the fickle part is they want that whatever is Cool... and that is not so much brand identification as it is functionality....If something new comes around that is impressive in their minds... the leading edge adopt it ... the pier group sees it and wants it...the "herd Mentality"... where I live I have started to see it... the teens I talk to that have use/bought BB10 like being connected in a better way.... they show their friends the new way of communication and we are off...I have seen a number of local teens convert to BB10 ...will take a while as most of us cannot just drop a phone to buy another....

[pmccartney]

I think you missed a Gen...I, therefore, feel so left out and so have no opinion. ( I think we X-ers probably have as many BB's as any Gen)
1927-1945 - Silent Generation or Traditionalists
1946-1964 - Baby Boomers
1965-1983 - Gen X or the Busters
1984- 2002 - Gen Y or the Millennials
2003- Current Gen Z or the Digital Generation

[kill_9]

I'd like to think of apple as the spice Girls and blackberry as pearl Jam, longevity is key.
Posted via CB10

I prefer to think of BlackBerry as the Johnny Cash of smartphones whereas Apple is likes of The Rolling Stones with Google Android being the Spice Girls of smartphones.

Johnny Cash - the man in black, a straight-shooter, and understated
The Rolling Stones - fiery and innovative at the beginning of their career but stale as they age
Spice Girls - popular for a relatively brief time but eventually each goes off to pursue their own thing

[herculesinwyoming]

My 20 year old son Uses a torch 9800. He will not part with, he must be an odd one for his age. He wants nothing to do with touch screen keyboards

[Ryolus]

Also remember that as these gen y's age and join the workforce and their lives get busier their preferences will change. They won't care as much about what's cool.

BlackBerry is a more effective tool and a less effective toy. As you get older the tool becomes more important.

Posted via CB10

[Soul-Eater]

Also remember that as these gen y's age and join the workforce and their lives get busier their preferences will change. They won't care as much about what's cool.

BlackBerry is a more effective tool and a less effective toy. As you get older the tool becomes more important.

Posted via CB10

You got the point!
Can't write it better
I am really confident that BlackBerry will come back to old strength.

Posted via CB10

[Jedi_Blackberry]

It's the Apple kool-ade. I never liked apple juice.

Posted via CB10

[jstirtzinger]

My son is 21 and he along with several friends have the Z10 as they feel the "Boss" factor is back now. They find iOS to be teenage girls and Android as either cheap plastic hand sets or IT geeks who live at home. (generic characterizations only) :-)

Posted via CB10

[Acumenight]

This is it. There are early adopters and trend setters. Then there are the complete fashionably inepts, the Late Comers, that mark the end of a fad.

For Apple, the early adopters/trend setters are long gone, or stuck in a contract but are itching to be gone. Similarly, the grandparents and the fashionably inepts are now jumping hard onto Apple. Obviously, it will take time fully play out, but the Craze for Apple products is done.

Now BlackBerry is on a very different trajectory. First, it HAD been fashionable to bash and make fun of BlackBerry's 2-3 years ago by the Trend Setters/Early Adopters/Hipsters alike. Now however, if you ever talk with people about cell phones, only the Fashionably Inept & the MidLife Crissis crowds make fun of BlackBerry. Obviously, it is no longer 'Cool' to make fun of BlackBerry because that running joke is long done with and only the Late Comers are doing it.

This Marks a new cycle for BlackBerry. It is Not Mainstream. It is no longer Uncool or Cool. In fact, its almost "brand new" to the youngsters. I recall, not too long ago when I was in highschool - I search high and low for products that are different & cool, not what everyone else had. I think if I were in highschool, I would have definately got the Z10... which leads me to believe it would be mainstream a couple years later.

I have thought this often too. But in today's tech age I really think that it is too hard to predict what will be hot and trendy for the youts. When my 70 year mother got an iPhone so she "could take pictures" I got a sense that Apple was peaking and I think it has. If I know anything about younger people is that they like to be different from the older generation. Maybe in your neck of the woods they might start choosing Blackberry.

[Berry_Pink]

Every teenager and person around my age I know (21) in the Midlands UK uses a blackberry; they love bbm and you mainly get asked for your pin before your number but as the phone is quite expensive off contract I haven't seen a huge rise of teenage users of a z10- most people have either an 8520 or a 9900, I don't think there's much issue keeping UK teens on blackberry besides pricing as I phones dropped their prices to keep interest up

Sent from my Jiayu G3 Droid using Tapatalk.

[cbzeduser]

You make some interesting points. I have noticed from reading the user reviews on the AT&T site that buyers of the Z10 seem to skew older.

But where I think you are wrong is in the idea that people stay with one brand for the rest of their lives. I have actually switched brands every time I bought a phone, for a variety of reasons. When I was younger, it was important to me to have a phone that was "bleeding edge", that would impress people when I took it out. Then as I got older, I started to care more about features that were useful to me in my work. here is my "brand history":

Nokia (2 years)
Nokia (2 years)
Ericsson (2 years)
Voq (2 years)
Samsung (5 years)
Blackberry (Z10)

I have been wanting to upgrade for several years now, but did not want android or Apple. I almost got a Windows Phone, but that did not meet my needs either. There is a huge underserved niche of phone buyers who want an alternative to the Google and Apple ecosystems who have been waiting for a phone like the Z10.

Also, I know a lot of unhappy iPhone and android phone users who are ready to try something else.

[kill_9]

My 20 year old son Uses a torch 9800. He will not part with, he must be an odd one for his age. He wants nothing to do with touch screen keyboards

I readily admit to missing the smaller form-factor of my BlackBerry Bold 9700. Without a case the BlackBerry Z10 feels as though it could fall out of my hand at any moment; undoubtedly a consequence of one-handed use compared to the two-handed use encouraged by the BlackBerry Bold 9700. The BlackBerry OtterBox on my BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Z10 definitely add weight to the devices but the protection is generally unbeatable but my wrist gets tired holding it for extended periods of time - another reason to restore full functionality to BlackBerry Bridge for use with the BlackBerry PlayBook. Maybe BlackBerry should have included a wrist strap like many digital pint-and-shoot cameras have these days.