[seko vimbelo]

Is it a good idea for BlackBerry Mobile to release more "keyboarded" devices.. Cause the success of the KEY2 is uncertain, right?

[Rico4you]

Is it a good idea for BlackBerry Mobile to release more "keyboarded" devices.. Cause the success of the KEY2 is uncertain, right?

And they released the KEY2 RED Edition and it sold out...

[seko vimbelo]

So I guess it's fine, alright mate.

[TgeekB]

Is it a good idea for BlackBerry Mobile to release more "keyboarded" devices.. Cause the success of the KEY2 is uncertain, right?

It’s hard to answer that because we don’t know how many have been sold and if there is a large enough market to be profitable. We can only hope that there is and that they will continue to make PKB devices. Only time will tell.

[Platinum_2]

And they released the KEY2 RED Edition and it sold out...

Because they made 2. Lol.

[Emaderton3]

And they released the KEY2 RED Edition and it sold out...

All 100 of them lol!

[the_boon]

Is it a good idea for BlackBerry Mobile to release more "keyboarded" devices.. Cause the success of the KEY2 is uncertain, right?

Well, we do know how miserably every "non-keyboarded" BlackBerry sold...

[chain13]

Is it a good idea for BlackBerry Mobile to release more "keyboarded" devices.. Cause the success of the KEY2 is uncertain, right?

They sold them at premium price, so yes. Even if it just sold in low number, their profit margin is still bigger

[Platinum_2]

They sold them at premium price, so yes. Even if it just sold in low number, their profit margin is still bigger

The question remains, was there enough volume at those margins to remain viable?

[idssteve]

If they don't sell PKB phones, what WILL they sell? Only thing that's sold worse than BlackBerry PKB has been BlackBerry slabs. Afaik??

[Platinum_2]

If they don't sell PKB phones, what WILL they sell? Only thing that's sold worse than BlackBerry PKB has been BlackBerry slabs. Afaik??

I would assume they would exit the business. VKB competition is too stiff with thin margins to even try.

[the_boon]

If they don't sell PKB phones, what WILL they sell? Only thing that's sold worse than BlackBerry PKB has been BlackBerry slabs. Afaik??

Pretty much. But yet some insist that they should give another shot at a slab because over 99% of the market is slabs.
I get why they would think that, but i believe the failure of the Motion speaks for itself

[Emaderton3]

Pretty much. But yet some insist that they should give another shot at a slab because over 99% of the market is slabs.
I get why they would think that, but i believe the failure of the Motion speaks for itself

And the rest of them!

[thurask]

If they don't sell PKB phones, what WILL they sell? Only thing that's sold worse than BlackBerry PKB has been BlackBerry slabs. Afaik??

Empty boxes?

And they released the KEY2 RED Edition and it sold out...

https://xkcd.com/1102/

[chain13]

The question remains, was there enough volume at those margins to remain viable?

No. That's where the marketing works. Released a new colour (red) option, and charge 100$ more. LOL

[the_boon]

No. That's where the marketing works. Released a new colour (red) option, and charge 100$ more. LOL

There's also the improved spacebar and alt characters which are in a more legible white print, but I guess no one takes that into account...

...maybe because those improvements should have been there in the first place lol

[idssteve]

Pretty much. But yet some insist that they should give another shot at a slab because over 99% of the market is slabs.
I get why they would think that, but i believe the failure of the Motion speaks for itself

I have yet to hear a credible explanation: If slab is inherently 99% "better" than PKB, why doesn't BlackBerry slab experience reflect Apple & Samsung's 99:1 ratio? Or even a recognizable trend toward that direction? Has BlackBerry slab EVER accounted for 51% of BlackBerry sales? ??? Why is that? Yes, PKB optimal BBOS was poorly equipped for slab duties, but BB10 and Android were designed from conception optimized for slab. To the detriment of PKB. Why hasn't Z10/30 - D50/60 - Motion, etc, at least outsold Q - PP - Classic - K... ????


I personally despise everything "slab" and even "sorta slab" so I legitimately have no clue as to why 99% of slab market ignored Motion...??? But seriously... can a faithful "slab lover" offer insight into WHY Motion didn't sell at least as well as K in a 99:1 market environment? I'm legitimately curious...????

[Laura Knotek]

I have yet to hear a credible explanation: If slab is inherently 99% "better" than PKB, why doesn't BlackBerry slab experience reflect Apple & Samsung's 99:1 ratio? Or even a recognizable trend toward that direction? Has BlackBerry slab EVER accounted for 51% of BlackBerry sales? ??? Why is that? Yes, PKB optimal BBOS was poorly equipped for slab duties, but BB10 and Android were designed from conception optimized for slab. To the detriment of PKB. Why hasn't Z10/30 - D50/60 - Motion, etc, at least outsold Q - PP - Classic - K... ????


I personally despise everything "slab" and even "sorta slab" so I legitimately have no clue as to why 99% of slab market ignored Motion...??? But seriously... can a faithful "slab lover" offer insight into WHY Motion didn't sell at least as well as K in a 99:1 market environment? I'm legitimately curious...????

For me, it was too expensive for the mediocre specs. I could have purchased a Moto G5 Plus for less than half the cost of the Motion when both devices were new. Moto G5 Plus review: The new standard for budget phones https://www.androidcentral.com/moto-g5-plus

[Thud Hardsmack]

I have yet to hear a credible explanation: If slab is inherently 99% "better" than PKB, why doesn't BlackBerry slab experience reflect Apple & Samsung's 99:1 ratio? Or even a recognizable trend toward that direction? Has BlackBerry slab EVER accounted for 51% of BlackBerry sales? ??? Why is that? Yes, PKB optimal BBOS was poorly equipped for slab duties, but BB10 and Android were designed from conception optimized for slab. To the detriment of PKB. Why hasn't Z10/30 - D50/60 - Motion, etc, at least outsold Q - PP - Classic - K... ????


I personally despise everything "slab" and even "sorta slab" so I legitimately have no clue as to why 99% of slab market ignored Motion...??? But seriously... can a faithful "slab lover" offer insight into WHY Motion didn't sell at least as well as K in a 99:1 market environment? I'm legitimately curious...????

Because other manufacturers had better offerings. It was too expensive for a mid-range device and not enough under the hood to be a flagship, plus nothing in the software to make it a must-buy. Releasing at the same time as the OnePlus 5t, if you were holding the two in your hand I'm fairly certain the 5t would be the winner: double the RAM, storage, cameras, Snapdragon 835, and it cost half as much. There was also the Pixel 2/2XL to contend with, a little pricier but it justified itself for the cost (to some). And the biggest hurdle was the person looking to buy a BlackBerry - they're buying for the keyboard, not a full touchscreen that's only being offered as an afterthought.

[idssteve]

Ok, price/performance handicaps are certainly age old market realities. Not easily overcome at low volume production rates. A tough place for any small producer.

Still... Aren't K's subject to similar handicaps? Haven't BB's PKB BB10 & Android products pretty much shared platforms and analogous handicaps with their slab offerings??

Is user enthusiasm disparity that significant of variable? ??

[Thud Hardsmack]

Ok, price/performance handicaps are certainly age old market realities. Not easily overcome at low volume production rates. A tough place for any small producer.

Still... Aren't K's subject to similar handicaps? Haven't BB's PKB BB10 & Android products pretty much shared platforms and analogous handicaps with their slab offerings??

Is user enthusiasm disparity that significant of variable? ??

I'm not sure about other markets, but one of the problems in North America BB10 suffered from was being offered in different flavors by different carriers. Verizon carried the Z10, Q10, and Z30, nothing else. Sprint went with the Q10 only, etc. So it's difficult to get a real measure on how well they truly could have done had all models been available to everyone (and promoted well, cuz gawd).

[idssteve]

Hmm, interesting. I've never been on Sprint so didn't know they never carried Z. Was that Sprint's choice? If so, why?? Wasn't Sprint aware of an impending 99:1 market? Or was it due to some sort of "exclusive" agreement with VZW/Att ?? Carriers certainly play heavy roles.

(Hey, they had Superbowl "promotion". Lol.)

[Thud Hardsmack]

Hmm, interesting. I've never been on Sprint so didn't know they never carried Z. Was that Sprint's choice? If so, why?? Wasn't Sprint aware of an impending 99:1 market? Or was it due to some sort of "exclusive" agreement with VZW/Att ?? Carriers certainly play heavy roles.

(Hey, they had Superbowl "promotion". Lol.)

They made the decision to skip the Z10 because they didn't think anyone would want it over the Q10.

[Emaderton3]

They made the decision to skip the Z10 because they didn't think anyone would want it over the Q10.

The Z10 release was a disaster. BB10 was rushed out and not quite ready. There were large numbers of returns. BlackBerry had to write off a huge loss of inventory.

[idssteve]

BB10 itself was an unmitigated "over promise, under deliver" disaster. As introduced, at least. Q was even more functionally crippled than Z, imo. We finally got programmable PKB shortcuts just after Classic... How many years later? Lol. Still can't insert rows in DTG spreadsheets nor be sure of which month you're viewing in calendar... Lol. And they wondered why legacy refused to migrate? Lol.

BUT, BB10's immaturity crippled PKB far, FAR more than it did Zs. Imo. Yet, despite Z30's respectable specs and Apple style embedded battery, it still never demonstrated anything remotely resembling market wide 99:1 sales superiority over lesser powered Classic. Afaik. Did Z30 ever outsell Classic at all?

Always wished Classic could've been blessed with Z30 specs, at least. Lol.