[cgk]

So a few takeaways:

On outsourcing / licensing hardware and 'how much': "Quite a bit. We really have not outsourced all our development- hardware environment, handset development effort. We are taking one or two products outsource it to others, but we've been developing our own handset also." I would take this to be the Mercury.

Em... you miss the all-important line that immediately followed that:

So what I announced today, we will end that activity and rely completely on partners.

Edit: I see you noticed you missed it - we were posting at same time.


Another important aspect:

No, because we are - some of the hardware security features, we will either license and provide to the third party we talk about, some might not make it.

We'll have headlines about hacked Blackberry devices within a couple of quarters of release.

but capital that we talk about, we don't have inventory we need to carry anymore.

If you don't have inventory, you aren't making handsets.

[BlackBerryPassport]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

Posted via CB10

[anon(9353145)]

I agree with everything you say in your 1st paragraph. Like you, I'm convinced that Chen has (probably) saved BlackBerry... even if the BlackBerry he's saved doesn't include the part that most here on the forums wanted!

Your 2nd paragraph... erm, no. I can't see any evidence that the Mercury design is well-advanced and, even if it were, I can't see why BB would give that design to an external party. A licence, I hear you say? Well...any licensee is going to want to see a return on his investment following the acquisition of a set of drawings and a prototype, and cover the costs of building a million(?) real devices. History shows that PKB devices really don't sell in any volume and I don't see that changing. And, because of Android's rules against square screens, the Mercury would surely be a large and unwieldy device with a 4:3 screen and a PKB underneath. So, would this proposed Mercury recoup the costs of production and be profitable do you think?

Chen saying he's looking for hardware licensees reminds me of Thor looking for BB10 licensees... and with a very similar probable outcome. While I'm sure BB would benefit from selling licences, I can't see anything in it for the licensee.

EDIT: And this, which was posted while I was typing, seems to support the ending of any internal BB development of the Mercury.

Quite a bit. We really have not outsourced all our development- hardware environment, handset development effort. We are taking one or two products [DTEK50/DTEK60?] outsource it to others, but we've been developing our own handset also [Mercury].

So what I announced today, we will end that activity and rely completely on partners
So I take from this that mercury was taken out behind the woodshed.

We'll maybe resume this in 6-months?

Oh, I agree that licensing is a tough slog, and wouldn't put much stock in BlackBerry succeeding. I missed the sentence that CGK caught on "ending that activity", so possibly that was the beloved (imho) Mercury. But taking into account his interview with his girlfriend (haha) Amber Kanwar, I'm a bit confused why he would point to a blank space on the device wall and declare a PKB forthcoming. Remember about a year or so ago, he whipped out the Priv unexpectedly to show it to her (which apparently wasn't part of the plan, lol). It's like she can make him blurt out things that are supposed to remain quiet for the time being. He apparently hates leaks, but put him in a room with her and he just can't seem to help himself.

[conite]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

Posted via CB10

It's actually one step closer to sustained profitability.

[JeepBB]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

No. The ending of hardware is one step away from the grave.

I'll agree with you though that the Blackberry that you, and others here, know and love is dead.

[Witmen]

It's actually one step closer to sustained profitability.

Indeed, I think Chen made a wise if disappointing decision.

Hardware would have killed the whole company if Chen hadn't killed it first.

[darkehawke]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

Posted via CB10

Handset Division was pretty much a one way ticket to their grave.
Once BBOS died it was only a matter of time before this happened

BB10 was killing them and nothing replaced BBOS in keeping them afloat

[BlackBerryPassport]

It's actually one step closer to sustained profitability.

Hahaha!! Still the fact remains true
I.e

BlackBerry is D E A D

Posted via CB10

[anon(9353145)]

Em... you miss the all-important line that immediately followed that:

So what I announced today, we will end that activity and rely completely on partners.

Edit: I see you noticed you missed it - we were posting at same time.

Another important aspect:

We'll have headlines about hacked Blackberry devices within a couple of quarters of release.

If you don't have inventory, you aren't making handsets.

Good points, now I'm less certain, hah. Well, I guess it comes down to what their plan is for the 'transition', whether it's immediate or a process that completes by the end of FY2017. That still leaves open the possibility of the Mercury, imho. Hope so.

As a hedge I grabbed a Priv on sale, had it for a few days. Overall a nice device, the PKB isn't the best (tactile feedback), but better than nothing for those few of us who appreciate it. I actually find myself comfortably using it with the PKB extended most of the time (so far). But I did start out on the large Passport so not really surprised. The Mercury, if it appears, would be a walk in the park by comparison.

With all due respect to you and JeepBB, I hope you're both wrong, lol. Thanks for those catches in the transcript btw. I speed read, lol.

[JeepBB]

He apparently hates leaks, but put him in a room with her and he just can't seem to help himself.

Older man, attractive woman... I'd draw you a diagram, but I'm sure you don't need it!

Thanks for the link to the transcript... I was also working and could only snatch brief glimpses of the breaking BB news.

[anon(9353145)]

Hahaha!! Still the fact remains true
I.e

BlackBerry is D E A D

Posted via CB10

I assume you're a BlackBerry 10 and ONLY BlackBerry 10 loyalist. Schadenfreude is the today's word on CB I guess.

[anon(9353145)]

Older man, attractive woman... I'd draw you a diagram, but I'm sure you don't need it!

Thanks for the link to the transcript... I was also working and could only snatch brief glimpses of the breaking BB news.

My AHA moment was when he went off script and showed her the Priv and completely fumbled it. I've had those DORK moments in the past when I liked someone and made a bit of an arse of myself in front of her!

I can't get sued for starting a rumour can I? =)

[blackmass]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

Posted via CB10

Take a look at this & think of a way bb cud hav turned around hardware.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/27/watch...is-coming.html

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[DenverRalphy]

BlackBerry is walking towards their Grave.
End of Handset division is one step closer to their grave.

BlackBerry is Dead.

Posted via CB10

Quite the opposite. Most would say that they just cut out the cancer sending them to the grave. The fallacy here is judging BBRY's success as a phone manufacturer. Once people get past that... It's not hard to understand.

BBRY has a lot going for them, it's just not handsets/hardware anymore.

[BlackBerryPassport]

I assume you're a BlackBerry 10 and ONLY BlackBerry 10 loyalist. Schadenfreude is the today's word on CB I guess.

Yes I am, and am proud of it.

And you must be DROID user.

Posted via CB10

[Niels B]

When Apple was without Steve Jobs, the company did very bad. So they tried the lincence thing. The computers that were made by the licensees were not very interesting, to say at least... When Apple was almost history they asked back Steve Jobs and he designed the iMac. Everybody knows how it went with Apple since then...

So maybe its time to ask Torsten back!

Anyhow, does anybody know a company that got better from licensing?

[anon(9353145)]

Yes I am, and am proud of it.

And you must be DROID user.

Posted via CB10

Love the BlackBerry Passport, and think that BB10 is a great out of the box OS. I still much prefer Active Frames on BB10 as a superior way of navigating open apps quickly and efficiently - much, much better than iOS or Android, imho.

But yes, for years I was an iPhone user (still sorta am), and have owned a few Droids - DTEK50, Moto X, Nexus, and as of the other day, a Priv (still hate the name). I'm glad you're proud of BlackBerry 10 and happy to continue using it and hope it serves you for years to come.

If no Mercury (Android) appears on the horizon, I'm not sure where I'll land next. I think with what I currently own I can safely coast into next year when the 10th Anniversary iPhone 8 arrives and will decide then. But I'm currently leaning towards Android as I find it more intuitive.

[ToniCipriani]

https://www.facebook.com/BlackBerry/...842498805848:0

Great. Now where's Dark Hub?

[Bratza]

The whole thing with licensing BlackBerry phones that will be manufactured by others is not a new thing. Actually it was Google who did this already. Just look at the decision of "not making any phones" the same as Google Nexus. Google is making "their" phone by Samsung, by HTC, by HTC...

What I also noticed is that there is a big chance of Samsung being a partner, especially after their latest unfortunate "adventure" of producing exploding phone, plus their colaboration with BlackBerry on Knox.

Will there be any interest for new "BlackBerry" phones? I honestly don't know.

What I want to believe is that the planned pkb phone will be released at the beginning of the next year and that it will have a decent success, which would help BB create some new deals on branding "their" new phones and software support them. Xiaomi is on my personal list of partners, having in mind the quality of their hardware and their (low) price.


* All of the things mentioned above are based only on my own perception of things and some assumptions.

Posted via CB10

[curves2000]

Can someone explain a few pointers for me regarding this new development. I think I got it down but need some clarification points.

Future BlackBerry devices will be more along the lines of the DTEK50 /60 models? They will be re branded devices from other manufacturers and just carry the BlackBerry logo, name and "secured Android" software along with monthly security devices?

I understand that BlackBerry won't be designing, building or carrying any hardware in the future. I am just trying to figure out the difference between what this "licensing agreement" is vs the DTEK50/60 model?

Also can anyone provide any commentary on these "data centers" that BlackBerry says will be sold? This wouldn't be the NOC or "network operating center" would it?

Thanks

Posted via CB10

[cbvinh]

Seemed pretty confident about it, like pointing to the blank space on the wall, and using definitives like "there will be", etc. Language is important, and he can be slippery, but I'd bet it's already in the works.

If he is confident and the only license we know of is with a company in Indonesia...

[bb10adopter111]

Well it's end of an era. Anyone want
Two blackberry q10 devices and a classic? That's my stash. Haha

Problem with their mercury model or any future keyboard phone if they make one is that the screen is so massive compared to their older pkb phones. The apps world has made it so every phone needs a huge amount of screen real estate. More like 70/30 breakdown of screen to keyboard. Or even 80/20. The older phones were closer to 50/50. But that's over now. To me the classic is the last real blackberry qwerty phone ever made.

I'll take a q10 and the Classic. Still.happy with BB10 and no complaints.

Posted via CB10

[eiruvrav]

I'll take a q10 and the Classic. Still.happy with BB10 and no complaints.

Posted via CB10

I second you on this all the way.

[anon(6038817)]

My new Passport SE should arrive tomorrow. I'll be using a BlackBerry phone with a physical keyboard for as long as I can.

Posted from my Q10 via CB10

[anon(9721108)]

My new Passport SE should arrive tomorrow. I'll be using a BlackBerry phone with a physical keyboard for as long as I can.

Posted from my Q10 via CB10

Ditto

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk