[thymaster]

Lol. This is the funniest rumor by far. A low tier BlackBerry device. If this is true then BlackBerry is asking to be burn on a steak by the Chinese. Can they produce a cheaper Android then OnePlus, Xiaomi or Huawei? Good luck competing in this area. If it's a low end BB10 then at least it's got something to differentiate itself from Android manufacturers.

Posted via CB10

[johnny_bravo72]

Lol. This is the funniest rumor by far. A low tier BlackBerry device. If this is true then BlackBerry is asking to be burn on a steak by the Chinese. Can they produce a cheaper Android then OnePlus, Xiaomi or Huawei? Good luck competing in this area. If it's a low end BB10 then at least it's got something to differentiate itself from Android manufacturers.

Posted via CB10

BlackBerry already tried going "low end BB10" with the Z3. Not much success there either.

Posted from an ME173X

[igor10000]

I'm pretty sure N4BB just makes this sh*t up. They post so many BS stories.

Posted via CB10

Dylab Habkirk of BlackBerry Central also came with info that two droid devices are in works

Posted via CB10

[igor10000]

BlackBerry still seems to be under the illusion that people will pay a hefty premium just for the BlackBerry name.

Yes, I, and all of the other unique BlackBerry fans will pay for it. But why would a regular Joe pay more for a BlackBerry branded android device over a dirt cheap Chinese android with comparable or better specs.

John Chen said himself that the Chinese can produce 5 inch Android slabs for prices that he can't match. But Chen won't have access to those Chinese manufacturers. So it's almost a guarantee that a BlackBerry android would be way overpriced.

Posted via CB10

Those android modely are said to be entry-level, so not really a case of paying premium price comparison them.

Posted via CB10

[igor10000]

At this point, BlackBerry has nothing to lose. Staying on the course is not the way to go. I would withhold any judgment since if BlackBerry do indeed take this route, there are some interesting scenarios that can happen. For one, it would be a departure from a hopeless OS called BlackBerry 10, which like many said, never mind that BlackBerry 10 is technically sound, the OS has commercially failed so thoroughly.

Yet Crackberrians refuse to buy a Droid BlackBerry

Posted via CB10

[RubberChicken76]

So many unsubstantiated rumors from N4BB. Now the Slider isn't running Android?

Give it a day or so and someone here will be acting as though BlackBerry has put out a press release already about it.

[cgk]

A lot of old Nokia users for one, so many QWERTY Symbian and Nokia Series 40 users went to Android, a Android with A high quality QWERTY, they would snap your hand off

Did we hear a version of this? It went...

People only went android because there wasn't a quality all touch device from BBRY - once they release the z10, this will take care of the pent-up demand

which after the z10 bombed was replaced with

People really want that blackberry experience but with a keyboard once the q10 is released, this will take care of the pent-up demand

which after the q10 bombed was replaced by

People in emerging markets love the BBRY name above all else, once the z3 lands, we are going to see millions of sales

which after the z3 bombed was replaced by

The passport is the phone that will bring back people to bbry with its unique design features

which after the passport bombed was replaced by...

[kvndoom]

If you had the choice to sell for example 1 million units or 50 million units, which one would you choose? This is blackberry answer to selling a better than fair amount of handset for anyone not looking for a complete secure platform.

Z10

Stop using sound business logic on Crackberry!

Posted from BlackBerry Classic, Verizon, no camera, 10.3.2.840

[MobileMadness002]

We don't have details on the BlackBerry Experience... but does anyone believe it's going to be free?

Does anyone believe that BlackBerry can magically secure Android better than Google and all their resource.... and it still have access to Google Play? (several manufactures make more secure versions of Android - but they aren't OHA approved)

Does anyone believe that a BlackBerry Z3 running Android would sell for less than a BlackBerry Z3 running this special Android?

While the rumor to move to Android makes sense for enterprise customers.... it makes no sense as a product in the highly competitive developing markets.

Still wonder how sales of the Z3 ended after a year... and if that played a part in the LEAP being made by a different OEM.

They don't have to secure android, they have to secure their Container. Which I presume will be easy.

[sentimentGX4]

Did we hear a version of this? It went...

TBH, I think BB10 is seriously depressing sales and the extent that this is happening is not emphasized enough.

Blackberry could likely charge the exact same prices for its current lineup swapping only the OSes and the Android counterparts would greatly outsell the BB10 versions despite the horrible price for specs ratio of BBRY devices.

Switching to Android especially makes sense for devices like the Passport or Q10, where its main selling point isn't even necessarily the OS for some buyers. When having a niche product like the Passport, you don't want to be a niche of a niche. One gimmick/hook is enough to have people interested. A second niche simply alienates too many buyers.

I'm not sure how much marketshare BBRY will recuperate by going Android... presumably to 1% or maybe more. It's true that the company isn't great at competing in hardware and the hardware division might still not be profitable.

Despite this, John Chen will still go Android because sales volume makes BBRY more attractive to a buyer/investors than being profitable in hardware. Many potential BBRY suitors, like Microsoft, could care less about how unprofitable the hardware division is. They are purely interested in attaining the marketshare. Think the Nokia acquisition.

Anyway, I'm not sure John Chen is convinced he could turn hardware around in profitability or whether he should do so. BBRY will ultimately make much more money selling software than hardware, which has become low margin. Because of this, Chen may believe that the best move for BBRY and its investors is to make hardware attractive to a buyer. This is likely one of the reasons hardware has not been axed despite very low sales.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

They don't have to secure android, they have to secure their Container. Which I presume will be easy.

Might be why they are working with Samsung as KNOX already does this...

As I understand it BES already creates a "secure" container on Android and iOS already. But it doesn't meet all of the DoDs security requirements... thus the big reason that KNOX exists to begin with. I have no idea how hard it would be for BlackBerry to better secure the Container.... but then I assumed that BBMx would work better when it was released and that after almost two years it would be a viable App.

But I'm pretty sure you are right, Android doesn't have to be secured. The container has to be secured and if a device gets rooted, it would no longer have access to the container or the network. Not as good a solution as BlackBerry's devices having built-in security... but I guess if it meets the requirements.

[Bbnivende]

Only makes sense if new phone has BIS.

Posted via CB10

[Ed YANG]

Even for the U$150 tag you can buy really good Android phones, not just low specs, more in the line of middle specs...

Leagoo Lead 7 - Specifications

A very good example like this here... beefier battery, multiple core cpu, big screen... what else can compete @ USD$160 price?

[Deckard79]

Guess BlackBerry still have a few Z3s to shift, then.

Posted via CB10

[Ed YANG]

At this point, BlackBerry has nothing to lose. Staying on the course is not the way to go. I would withhold any judgment since if BlackBerry do indeed take this route, there are some interesting scenarios that can happen.

Remember NOKIA? With their release of the X and XL device?
When NOKIA announced that they were going to release the devices... it draw lots of interests from then NOKIA/Windows folks. Thinking that the devices will be competitive to other makes in the market in terms of hardware specs and customized UI as well as pricing... but what happened? Eventually the devices were released, with limited numbers as well as higher pricing...
Did the release succeed? Yes and No.
The announcement do received lots of attention from folks who want a secondary device in another platform, but the price was high...that folks can get Android device with specs and price that can compete with Nokia's produce.
What i see now... BB is going the Nokia path which the brand had traveled once, by offering alternate options for BB users or to those who just want a branded gadget... with sort of failure because of poor pricing strategy. So if BB want a success, they have to look very close on market trend and determine on their pricing... rather than believing that the BB name can bring in more monetary and name exposure returns.

For one, it would be a departure from a hopeless OS called BlackBerry 10, which like many said, never mind that BlackBerry 10 is technically sound, the OS has commercially failed so thoroughly.

Hmmm... BBOS10 a failure... hmmm... I wonder how many out there will agree with u on this...?

[ljfong]

Yet Crackberrians refuse to buy a Droid BlackBerry

Posted via CB10

I wouldn't be too sure about that. Crackberrians were saying how ugly the Passport was and how they wouldn't bother before it was released and turned out that many liked it and bought quite a few. Emotion is a fickle thing.

[Soulstream]

Remember NOKIA? With their release of the X and XL device?
When NOKIA announced that they were going to release the devices... it draw lots of interests from then NOKIA/Windows folks. Thinking that the devices will be competitive to other makes in the market in terms of hardware specs and customized UI as well as pricing... but what happened? Eventually the devices were released, with limited numbers as well as higher pricing...
Did the release succeed? Yes and No.
The announcement do received lots of attention from folks who want a secondary device in another platform, but the price was high...that folks can get Android device with specs and price that can compete with Nokia's produce.
What i see now... BB is going the Nokia path which the brand had traveled once, by offering alternate options for BB users or to those who just want a branded gadget... with sort of failure because of poor pricing strategy. So if BB want a success, they have to look very close on market trend and determine on their pricing... rather than believing that the BB name can bring in more monetary and name exposure returns.

Hmmm... BBOS10 a failure... hmmm... I wonder how many out there will agree with u on this...?

The problem is that nokia released an Android fork without Google play services and with the Windows phone live tile interface. It was an android only in name; it was actually more similar to BB10 with their android runtime.

In the western world, if you go Android you go Google android; no android fork managed to succeeded here.

[johnny_bravo72]

Remember NOKIA? With their release of the X and XL device?
When NOKIA announced that they were going to release the devices... it draw lots of interests from then NOKIA/Windows folks. Thinking that the devices will be competitive to other makes in the market in terms of hardware specs and customized UI as well as pricing... but what happened? Eventually the devices were released, with limited numbers as well as higher pricing...
Did the release succeed? Yes and No.
The announcement do received lots of attention from folks who want a secondary device in another platform, but the price was high...that folks can get Android device with specs and price that can compete with Nokia's produce.
What i see now... BB is going the Nokia path which the brand had traveled once, by offering alternate options for BB users or to those who just want a branded gadget... with sort of failure because of poor pricing strategy. So if BB want a success, they have to look very close on market trend and determine on their pricing... rather than believing that the BB name can bring in more monetary and name exposure returns.

Hmmm... BBOS10 a failure... hmmm... I wonder how many out there will agree with u on this...?

Nokia X and XL had forked Android versions. No definite answer yet regarding how BlackBerry will implement Android on their phones.

BB10 phones were a COMMERCIAL failure. That's a fact.

[MarsupilamiX]

And just 3-4 months ago, he said that all remaining BlackBerry phones for the rest of the year would have a physical keyboard.

Posted via CB10

Which was his single biggest mistake this year, in terms of his product portfolio.

[MarsupilamiX]

BlackBerry already tried going "low end BB10" with the Z3. Not much success there either.

Posted from an ME173X

The Z3 was so damn overpriced, that the word low-end is an insult for every chinese manufacturer who made you a copy of the Samsung S5, for 50$ more than the MSRP of the Z3 at launch.

TBH, I think BB10 is seriously depressing sales and the extent that this is happening is not emphasized enough.

Blackberry could likely charge the exact same prices for its current lineup swapping only the OSes and the Android counterparts would greatly outsell the BB10 versions despite the horrible price for specs ratio of BBRY devices.

Switching to Android especially makes sense for devices like the Passport or Q10, where its main selling point isn't even necessarily the OS for some buyers. When having a niche product like the Passport, you don't want to be a niche of a niche. One gimmick/hook is enough to have people interested. A second niche simply alienates too many buyers.

I'm not sure how much marketshare BBRY will recuperate by going Android... presumably to 1% or maybe more. It's true that the company isn't great at competing in hardware and the hardware division might still not be profitable.

Despite this, John Chen will still go Android because sales volume makes BBRY more attractive to a buyer/investors than being profitable in hardware. Many potential BBRY suitors, like Microsoft, could care less about how unprofitable the hardware division is. They are purely interested in attaining the marketshare. Think the Nokia acquisition.

Anyway, I'm not sure John Chen is convinced he could turn hardware around in profitability or whether he should do so. BBRY will ultimately make much more money selling software than hardware, which has become low margin. Because of this, Chen may believe that the best move for BBRY and its investors is to make hardware attractive to a buyer. This is likely one of the reasons hardware has not been axed despite very low sales.

When you say that hardware is low margin...
Do you factor in Apple, or do you mean for BlackBerry themselves?

Hmmm... BBOS10 a failure... hmmm... I wonder how many out there will agree with u on this...?

In terms of available ecosystem, total sales, money made, money burned, the destruction of BlackBerry's brand name (even though 90% of that is attributed to BBOS and not BB10) market share and future outlook?
BB10 is probably the biggest failure in the smartphone market that we have ever seen.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. Crackberrians were saying how ugly the Passport was and how they wouldn't bother before it was released and turned out that many liked it and bought quite a few. Emotion is a fickle thing.

I have an HTC One for some 7 months now...
And I really start to dislike Android again (last Android I actually wanted and also got was the OG Droid), to the point where I don't want another Android device for the next few years.

For everyone who doesn't have a serious issue with Android (and nobody who uses Android apps on their BlackBerry should have one, because that would be hypocritical), this obviously doesn't apply.

If the slider doesn't run BB10, I'll go to iOS, no matter how awesome the keyboard might be.

[Ed YANG]

The Z3 was so damn overpriced, that the word low-end is an insult for every chinese manufacturer who made you a copy of the Samsung S5, for 50$ more than the MSRP of the Z3 at launch.

Back when the smart phone war started with OS5 and then OS7... BlackBerry had left an impression to smartphone users for being an exclusive brand with exclusively odd operating system as well as exclusivity odd pricing... trying too much to beat the Apple, and perhaps Windows which was then available with high-end makes in the market... There, the "un-approachable" impression hovers around the BB brand till today... even though i had told lots of folks around me that the new BBOS can take .apk apps from the Android world.... sigh...

BB had a chance to spread it's wing again with the release of Z3... however, it seems that they're very eager in recouping the earlier losses, that they priced the Z3 too high in matured markets. Which eventually turns off people interests in getting BB device again...

[notfanboy]

If this rumor is true, which I doubt, a more appropriate name would be the "Plague".

[Soulstream]

Back when the smart phone war started with OS5 and then OS7... BlackBerry had left an impression to smartphone users for being an exclusive brand with exclusively odd operating system as well as exclusivity odd pricing... trying too much to beat the Apple, and perhaps Windows which was then available with high-end makes in the market... There, the "un-approachable" impression hovers around the BB brand till today... even though i had told lots of folks around me that the new BBOS can take .apk apps from the Android world.... sigh...

BB had a chance to spread it's wing again with the release of Z3... however, it seems that they're very eager in recouping the earlier losses, that they priced the Z3 too high in matured markets. Which eventually turns off people interests in getting BB device again...

The worst thing to happen to BB was the release and rise to popularity of Android. It made smartphone prices drop, but for BB that also had to cover the development cost of their own OS, this was bad. For the same specs their prices were higher than Android phones. Combined with the lack of an ecosystem it was even worse.

Of course, all this was very good for consumers tat had access to better and better specs at lower prices.

[ljfong]

Hmmm... BBOS10 a failure... hmmm... I wonder how many out there will agree with u on this...?

100% - 1% (roughly the smartphone marketshare of BB today) = 99% sorta agreed with me.

[ljfong]

The problem is that nokia released an Android fork without Google play services and with the Windows phone live tile interface. It was an android only in name; it was actually more similar to BB10 with their android runtime.

In the western world, if you go Android you go Google android; no android fork managed to succeeded here.

Exactly right. If all BlackBerry ends up doing is forking AOSP the way Amazon is doing it, then BlackBerry Android phones will be just as successful as Amazon Fire phones, which is, well not that successful and a waste of time and money.