1. cbvinh's Avatar
    They should have kept the design team. No matter what.
    Design it then have it built on a consensus with the partner.
    And how do they pay for the team?
    09-28-16 01:54 PM
  2. ToniCipriani's Avatar
    Well if a licensee is offering one in a market where you actually live - otherwise I guess you import one and live with the fact you are on your own with no support.
    They're not done winding down though. Probably to finish up Mercury.
    anon(9353145) likes this.
    09-28-16 01:54 PM
  3. ardakca's Avatar
    And how do they pay for the team?
    I just can't guess the design team. How many people for one phone. I just don't know.
    09-28-16 01:57 PM
  4. ardakca's Avatar
    Well hope they release the mercury soon
    09-28-16 01:58 PM
  5. JeepBB's Avatar
    For Pkb I don't know. The deal might cover mercury with TCL. Since it is an old project, BlackBerry could have given the design to TCL or some other party.
    There is no "deal" with TCL.

    TCL aren't BB's partners in some grand manufacturing strategy.

    TCL will sell anyone phones from their reference range. It's a straight cash transaction between customer and supplier.

    BB has paid that cash for the DTEK50 and the DTEK60, both mildly customised versions of an existing TCL reference phone.

    TCL do not, as far as I know, have a PKB reference model in their range. So BB can't buy such a phone from TCL.

    TCL, I am sure, have no desire to take on the design and manufacturing costs of producing a PKB phone for BB when there is close to zero demand for such a PKB phone in the real world outside of the CB bubble. If there was that demand, Samsung would sell PKB phones.

    Where's the profit for TCL in doing so?

    Or is this another of those: "some other entity should spend their time and money because it benefits BB" posts?

    The conclusion: there will never, ever, ever, be a Mercury phone.
    09-28-16 01:58 PM
  6. cgk's Avatar
    They're not done winding down though. Probably to finish up Mercury.
    I'm starting to get confused - which rebadged phone is that?
    JeepBB likes this.
    09-28-16 01:59 PM
  7. zephyr613's Avatar
    I'm starting to get confused - which rebadged phone is that?
    This one:

    BlackBerry to exit hardware business-950-1.jpg
    cgk, JeepBB, kirson and 3 others like this.
    09-28-16 02:01 PM
  8. ardakca's Avatar
    There is no "deal" with TCL.

    TCL aren't BB's partners in some grand manufacturing strategy.

    TCL will sell anyone phones from their reference range. It's a straight cash transaction between customer and supplier.

    BB has paid that cash for the DTEK50 and the DTEK60, both mildly customised versions of an existing TCL reference phone.

    TCL do not, as far as I know, have a PKB reference model in their range. So BB can't buy such a phone from TCL.

    TCL, I am sure, have no desire to take on the design and manufacturing costs of producing a PKB phone for BB when there is close to zero demand for such a PKB phone in the real world outside of the CB bubble. If there was that demand, Samsung would sell PKB phones.

    Where's the profit for TCL in doing so?

    Or is this another of those: "some other entity should spend their time and money because it benefits BB" posts?

    The conclusion: there will never, ever, ever, be a Mercury phone.
    I will remind you this )
    09-28-16 02:01 PM
  9. JeepBB's Avatar
    I will remind you this )
    Heh. That will also never, ever, ever happen.
    09-28-16 02:03 PM
  10. cgk's Avatar
    IBy the way BlackBerry is pretty popular in India also. Whatever, I wish I had a way to prove.
    Actually it's easier to disprove that - divide 400,000 units by the 30 or so countries they sell in.
    JeepBB likes this.
    09-28-16 02:04 PM
  11. Witmen's Avatar
    Nope... back then Android wasn't as secure as it is today. BlackBerry would have needed to go the Amazon route and created a forked version of Android to get the level of security that their customers would have required. But they would have been back in the same position of needing developers to simple port their apps over... which even Amazon is now having problems with.

    That they didn't have a new OS already in the works back when Apple and Google announced their plans... was unbelievable (I guess we just assume large companies are planning for the future). That after those plans were made know and BlackBerry dismissed both of those large companies... was the end of BlackBerry. In 2010 there was really nothing they could do to change the outcome, and many that were here then saw that.
    Security! Oh my gosh, Android's security was bad back then? Aw shucks.

    Well the crazy thing is, Android was still selling far better than BlackBerry OS did back then. Perhaps security isn't all that important to the survival of BlackBerry's hardware business. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, it would have been beneficial for BlackBerry to forget about the security that less than 1% of smartphone owners needs and just release a normal phone that ran Android?

    BlackBerry could have kept BlackBerry legacy OS for the tiny percentage of people out there that need or want BlackBerry security and offer Android smartphones for the approximately 99.7% of smartphone owners that couldn't possibly care any less about BlackBerry's security features. They certain could have done that while they worked at securing Android.

    After the Bold, they should have released normal, non secure, Android phones that actually stood a chance of being successful. Instead they released super duper secure BB10 devices first and then went to secure Android device. We all see how that worked out.
    Mirko935 and rayporsche like this.
    09-28-16 02:05 PM
  12. ardakca's Avatar
    Popular as a brand.
    09-28-16 02:05 PM
  13. ardakca's Avatar
    Heh. That will also never, ever, ever happen.
    Here's Chen talking about the keyboard coming back:<br />
    <br />
    BlackBerry CEO says QWERTY keyboard will live on, even after outsourcing move - Video - BNN

    Watch the vid. I lean towards believing him even though he is another moronic BlackBerry CEO.
    09-28-16 02:06 PM
  14. StephanieMaks's Avatar
    I'm starting to get confused - which rebadged phone is that?
    Pictured next to a Q5 for scale... forget your huge phones, tiny is the new big!

    BlackBerry to exit hardware business-pkb.jpg
    cgk, svelt, JeepBB and 2 others like this.
    09-28-16 02:08 PM
  15. anon(9353145)'s Avatar
    There is no "deal" with TCL.

    TCL aren't BB's partners in some grand manufacturing strategy.

    TCL will sell anyone phones from their reference range. It's a straight cash transaction between customer and supplier.

    BB has paid that cash for the DTEK50 and the DTEK60, both mildly customised versions of an existing TCL reference phone.

    TCL do not, as far as I know, have a PKB reference model in their range. So BB can't buy such a phone from TCL.

    TCL, I am sure, have no desire to take on the design and manufacturing costs of producing a PKB phone for BB when there is close to zero demand for such a PKB phone in the real world outside of the CB bubble. If there was that demand, Samsung would sell PKB phones.

    Where's the profit for TCL in doing so?

    Or is this another of those: "some other entity should spend their time and money because it benefits BB" posts?

    The conclusion: there will never, ever, ever, be a Mercury phone.
    Well colour me delusional, I still think the Mercury is possible.
    09-28-16 02:10 PM
  16. Witmen's Avatar
    like HTC?
    Say what you will about HTC, but they've still done way better with Android than BlackBerry did with BB10. BlackBerry 10 was a total loss. BlackBerry never made a single cent of profit off of that mistake.
    09-28-16 02:10 PM
  17. ToniCipriani's Avatar
    I'm starting to get confused - which rebadged phone is that?
    Nothing saying it's not in the pipeline for some time either, and makes sense. The rumoured date matches up with BlackBerry's ridiculously long design process.
    09-28-16 02:15 PM
  18. anon(9353145)'s Avatar
    Heh. That will also never, ever, ever happen.
    http://m.crackberry.com/john-chen-bl...oard-will-live

    So, uh... is Chen lying?
    09-28-16 02:15 PM
  19. ToniCipriani's Avatar
    Let's just make it a bet. Loser will have to use a double-typing Q10 for one month as punishment.
    09-28-16 02:19 PM
  20. ardakca's Avatar
    Toni you're on team blackberry or team no phones?
    09-28-16 02:23 PM
  21. stlabrat's Avatar
    Say what you will about HTC, but they've still done way better with Android than BlackBerry did with BB10. BlackBerry 10 was a total loss. BlackBerry never made a single cent of profit off of that mistake.
    I truly wish HTC is doing well, but the truth is, beside sammy, which made majority profit by components and in house low cost components that benefit of their handset, no body, including HTC made that much money... (correction, except the IP stealing one in asia) "EPS -16.39" last time i checked... 20/20 always good, but in this case, more or less a wash, I can not really say if BB took the droid road few years back is any better. I am admire your confidence.
    http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/3/108...one-oem-profit
    Last edited by stlabrat; 09-28-16 at 02:34 PM.
    09-28-16 02:23 PM
  22. cbvinh's Avatar
    Unfortunately he said "We don't build it and we don't pay for it", which means keyboards will be dependent on a partner, and a partner meeting BlackBerry's criteria, to protect the iconic branding.
    Dunt Dunt Dunt, cgk and JeepBB like this.
    09-28-16 02:30 PM
  23. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Security! Oh my gosh, Android's security was bad back then? Aw shucks.

    Well the crazy thing is, Android was still selling far better than BlackBerry OS did back then. Perhaps security isn't all that important to the survival of BlackBerry's hardware business. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, it would have been beneficial for BlackBerry to forget about the security that less than 1% of smartphone owners needs and just release a normal phone that ran Android?

    BlackBerry could have kept BlackBerry legacy OS for the tiny percentage of people out there that need or want BlackBerry security and offer Android smartphones for the approximately 99.7% of smartphone owners that couldn't possibly care any less about BlackBerry's security features. They certain could have done that while they worked at securing Android.

    After the Bold, they should have released normal, non secure, Android phones that actually stood a chance of being successful. Instead they released super duper secure BB10 devices first and then went to secure Android device. We all see how that worked out.


    Sorry but if the Z10 had been pure Android... it would not have sold any better. BlackBerry just is not in a position to compete in the "open" Android market against even the players back in 2010. With these new Chinese OEMs... they just never had a chance to be compitive

    BlackBerry needed the same profits as Apple had.. and you only get that by having your own unique platform. You can bet that at this point Samsung wishes they had never heard of Google.... but there is no going back now.
    stlabrat likes this.
    09-28-16 02:32 PM
  24. JeepBB's Avatar
    John Chen also said 10.3.3 was coming in July.

    I think he's very careful with words. I like Chen, I liked him even before it became unfashionable to do so here on the forums! LOL

    He pretty much always talks about "plans", or "intentions", or similar. From which phrases the optimistic hereabouts generally mentally omit the "plan" wording and seize upon his words as a "promise". Even his announcement of the end of hardware was similarly spun, it's just "internal" hardware design that is ending... and the optimists can seize on that as evidence that Christmas Elves, or somebody similar, will continue designing BB phones "externally" - even an externally designed Mercury, if such a thing is even possible or profitable for those Elves to do, is sure to appear.

    TL,DR; Plans change. Nobody else is going to build a PKB phone unless it will cover their costs and be profitable.
    StephanieMaks and kirson like this.
    09-28-16 02:39 PM
  25. blackmass's Avatar
    I feel bb has done the best to wash its hands of the hardware. Reading the posts here about raw materials supply/ pricing/ negotiations & projecting unit prices/ sales, along with cheap hardware manufacturers from China, i cant help feeling that in a few years time device hardware is gonna become more of a bulk commodity business.
    Say, there can b a few standardized hardware models to chose from - ultra premium, midrange and cheap.
    A software co like Google / blackberry can order a certain number of units on a JIT basis, flash their custom roms on the hardware& we r good to go. A la Geeksphone.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    09-28-16 02:39 PM
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