[Bacon Munchers]

Sorry for the formatting, I just copied and pasted. I can't wait till a future BB10 patch corrects for this! Enjoy

Source = CNET:

Lenovo in talks with smartphone party for joint venture
June 4, 2013 | Don Reisinger
The company wouldn't name names about its conversation partner, though rumor has it BlackBerry has spoken with Lenovo in the past.


Lenovo
Lenovo told its shareholders in a statement Tuesday that it's in talks with a smartphone maker to engage in a possible joint venture.

"The Board would like to inform the shareholders of the Company and potential investors that the Company is in preliminary negotiations with a party in connection with a potential joint venture transaction," Lenovo wrote (PDF). "As at the date of this announcement, no material terms concerning the Potential Transaction have been agreed and the Company has not entered into any definitive agreement in relation to the Potential Transaction."

The business-speak aside, Lenovo confirmed that the other company is "a party on smartphone business." Whether that means it's a smartphone maker or some other firm is unclear.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Lenovo has had designs on increasing its presence in the smartphone market. And it seems that nearly every time those rumors crop up, they're followed by a report claiming to come from a "source" that suggests Lenovo was considering making a bid for BlackBerry.

In January, when such a report surfaced, Lenovo CFO Wong Wai Ming wouldn't confirm that his company was in talks with BlackBerry, but he did acknowledge that Lenovo was "looking at all opportunities," adding that executives would have no problem making a deal "if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders." That was followed in March by a comment made by Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing, who said that Lenovo was open to acquiring BlackBerry.

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about these links

Don Reisinger

Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems.



Posted via CB10

[peter9477]

Credit where it's due... Lenovo in talks with smartphone party for joint venture | Mobile - CNET News

[Brutal Efficiency]

I hope this ain't true.

Say it ain't true!!!!

My Tech-Fleet: Q10; Z10; PlayBook; Surface Pro; Xbox 360; HP TouchPad; iPod Touch 5

[JBML007]

If this were to happen I would be shocked if BlackBerry would be sold to them.....There is NO WAY the Canadian Government would allow a canadian company to he bought by a chinese one. If they did work together I would like to see Lenovo phones running BB10. Thats all I want to see happen.

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[Thunderbuck]

I hope this ain't true.

Say it ain't true!!!!

My Tech-Fleet: Q10; Z10; PlayBook; Surface Pro; Xbox 360; HP TouchPad; iPod Touch 5

What, BB partnering with a company with potentially huge reach? Heins has been talking about licensing BB10 almost since the day he became CEO. I'd love to see Lenovo license BB10.

[Thunderbuck]

If this were to happen I would be shocked if BlackBerry would be sold to them.....There is NO WAY the Canadian Government would allow a canadian company to he bought by a chinese one. If they did work together I would like to see Lenovo phones running BB10. Thats all I want to see happen.

Posted via CB10

This isn't a buyout. For one thing, Lenovo couldn't afford BB. For another, yes, I agree that regulators in Canada and the US would have some issues. This is about BB potentially licensing BB10 for use on Lenovo phones.

[AnimalPak200]

Lenovo does make arguably the best laptop keyboards... hmm... I can see their attraction to Blackberry.

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[imz]

They'll be licensing and making bb10 tablets.

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[AnimalPak200]

They'll be licensing and making bb10 tablets.

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They already make windows tablets...

I hope it's mid/low tier affordable all touch BB10 phones to compete ASAP(!!!) with heavily discounted iPhone 4 and 4s's and crummy Androids.. mitigating adoption of other platforms in developing markets should be a key priority because once people start with one and get used to it.. it is much harder to get them to switch. Q5 is the right idea, but should have been launched yesterday.

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[Acumenight]

Hope there's a licensing deal out of this in 2013!
Now if we can get license agreement with BOTH Lenovo and Sony, now that would make my day.

[Brutal Efficiency]

I wouldn't mind it if they licensed tablets, but I wouldn't like to see BB10 running on another phone not branded with BlackBerry... I don't know how to say it, but it just destroys something special about BlackBerry. call me crazy, but I would hate it if BlackBerry licensed to Lenovo and Sony for phones.

BlackBerry was and IS such a strong brand. All about getting stuff done. That's what their motto is. If they license, it is like saying 'We can't get stuff done, but maybe someone else can.'

My Tech-Fleet: Q10; Z10; PlayBook; Surface Pro; Xbox 360; HP TouchPad; iPod Touch 5

[berklon]

I wouldn't mind it if they licensed tablets, but I wouldn't like to see BB10 running on another phone not branded with BlackBerry... I don't know how to say it, but it just destroys something special about BlackBerry. call me crazy, but I would hate it if BlackBerry licensed to Lenovo and Sony for phones.

So you're more worried about brand over function? Apple fans get knocked for having brand loyalty - for buying into anything Apple sells - but many on this forum seem to think it's fine to be loyal to BB. I think it would be great BB licensed out to other manufacturers - it helps keep the product alive while at the same time encouraging innovation. Manufacturers who use Android for their devices are always trying to out-do the competition - which is why the Android phone specs keep getting bumped up in speed and features - and customers are given a lot of choices. This is a good thing.

BlackBerry was and IS such a strong brand. All about getting stuff done. That's what their motto is. If they license, it is like saying 'We can't get stuff done, but maybe someone else can.'

Maybe they can't. When the Z10 was released, they were already behind the competition on specs... and they're falling further behind. Blackberry can't even get the reboot issue under control. With other manufacturers on board, better devices with BB10 will be released and more often. It will eventually speed up the amount of apps available for it and will help build the ecosystem.

Blackberry can't do this alone - especially from where they currently stand in marketshare. It's time for other manufacturers to help move the product forward.

[Brutal Efficiency]

I disagree. I think that BlackBerry can do this on their own. Their market share is climbing back in many places in the world, still 4 more devices to go on sale this year!!

I think the rebooting issue will be fixed quickly. It is mostly just the ones on Verizon, who, might I add, don't have the latest software. What is stopping the update from fixing the reboot issues?

My family has 3 Z10s and 1 Q10, none have EVER rebooted. My previous iPhone on the other hand rebooted everytime I opened Skype. Funny, because we have an Android Skype port, and it is no problems for me, while the Skype on iPhone used to either freeze my phone when starting up (and I would have to wait for battery to die, which didn't take long, because it's an iPhone, and I believe iOS isn't efficient with power saving), or it would reboot the phone.

I think that BlackBerry can win this battle. Don't doubt them!! It will take time, yes, but all good things take time. Unfortunately it is usually an uncomfortable amount of time, but it will get there. I don't think it is worth destroying the brand's purity for the sake of hurrying up the process of coming back.

Furthermore, I do not think that another branded BlackBerry 10 phone would increase sales enough to make it worth the cannibalising of sales from BlackBerry itself. Yes, BlackBerry make a lot of software, but the bulk of their profits are from hardware, and people can't forget that. Cannibalising hardware will turn BlackBerry into a software company, and not a hardware and software. I think that this is not a good idea. I believe that to make a perfect experience, the company must make the software that truly synchronises with the hardware. Android's 'experience' is not as fluid as the iPhone or BB10. Same thing goes for Windows Desktop. Windows Surface Pro is truly fantastic. It is an awesome form factor, and it runs beautifully. There have been countless Windows Desktop systems that have failed to run even remotely well.



Don't destroy what BlackBerry is all about. They are about getting things done. Licensing gives the message 'We can't get it done, so we need help.' or 'We can't get it done, but maybe someone else can.'

My Tech-Fleet: Q10; Z10; PlayBook; Surface Pro; Xbox 360; HP TouchPad; iPod Touch 5

[Thunderbuck]

The app gap is a game of numbers. Developers don't support the platform because there aren't enough users, and customers are less interested in a platform with fewer apps.

Licensing, particularly with Lenovo, would expose the OS to a lot of people who might not be interested. They're one of the top mobile brands in China, for instance.

I see a lot of potential.

From the awesome virtual keyboard of my Z10

[Bacon Munchers]

...Looks like the deal is with NEC (for now).

I think Lenovo is trying to 'dangle the carrot', but Thor is a sharp tack, so I am confident that he would handle the situation appropriately....



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[FunGuyLover]

Tasty! BB10 licensed to a company that can bust the MASSIVE Chinese market wide open?

Me likey...

(edit)

And would the one-trick pony trolls who want to bring up the rebooting "Issue" in every dang thread kindly buzz off? You're tiresome, boring, and increasingly pathetic. Thanks.
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[BBNation]

guys read, Lenovo is not buying bb but lenovo looking for partnership. As I said before bB will never be sold to chinese companies, it can only sell to US..

[Warlack]

It's still roughly 18 months for the Lenovo phone to come out..... I'm working for them and that's all they gave price to us....
Having few more BlackBerry 10 powered devices would be really sweet!

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[anon(4320318)]

Why does it need to be BlackBerry at all?
Jolla, Tizen, Ubuntu.. .


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[FunGuyLover]

Why does it need to be BlackBerry at all?
Jolla, Tizen, Ubuntu.. .


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Because BB10 rocks... hard!

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[aniym]

The deal is with NEC, not BB.....The BB connections were always iffy at best, because the press picked up an off the cuff remark from a Lenovo executive that could easily have been lost in translation. Lenovo pretty much has its hands full trying to enter the US market with Intel-based Android phones, I doubt they'd take on licensing BB10 without a clearer picture of its market potential. BB's secrecy around sales certainly doesn't help its

[John Pawling]

They already make windows tablets...

I hope it's mid/low tier affordable all touch BB10 phones to compete ASAP(!!!) with heavily discounted iPhone 4 and 4s's and crummy Androids.. mitigating adoption of other platforms in developing markets should be a key priority because once people start with one and get used to it.. it is much harder to get them to switch. Q5 is the right idea, but should have been launched yesterday.

Posted via CB10

For this reason, I can't see Lenovo coming out with any phone other than a windows phone. Wouldn't make business sense for their loyal tablet owners.

Posted via CB10 v1.4.2 on my Zed10 10.1.0.273 on Rogers

[Brandon Orr]

This would be a really good move for both parties. Lenovo is a well established professional computer company that has a strong foothold in the corporate world. In some senses BlackBerry and Lenovo are made for each other.

I also think if Lenovo was to go with Android they would just get lost in the shuffle since so many phones already boast an android OS. I also don't know if Microsoft would be inclined to licence windows 8 since they need to keep in mind that Nokia has ample space to increase on and competing against its main partner could prove difficult. I'd say BB10 would be the most logical partnership. Let Lenovo take care of the hardware. And have BlackBerry solely focus on software. This will allow BlackBerry to improve on the OS much faster than they currently do. They wouldn't have to worry about a bunch of aspects with their phones that are arguably not software oriented.

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[DSL9700]

Give Lenovo exclusive rights to china, blackberry will never break through there otherwise. also help fight off wechat.

[MasterOfBinary]

Why does it need to be BlackBerry at all?
Jolla, Tizen, Ubuntu.. .


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Interestingly, Ubuntu is apparently working with the Chinese government to get the Chinese language and apps on their smartphone OS (maybe Baidu support?).