[devinthomas]

Al's Emporium: Black-Eyed BlackBerry - WSJ.com

Here's what I think of the new BlackBerry RIM.T +0.70% : It's a phone.

Nobody is going to camp out in front of a store, like some rock-band groupie, to buy it.

Nobody is going to win a happy-hour debate over which phone is better: the BlackBerry Z10, the Apple iPhone 5, the Galaxy S III by Samsung, the Lumia 920 by Nokia, NOK1V.HE +1.32% or even the Nexus 4, which runsGoogle's GOOG +2.63% Android operating system.

They are all cool. They all have apps and features most people will never use.

Smartphone technology has swiftly reached the point where most future improvements will be incremental. This means that from now on launches of new smartphones will be about as exciting as the latest operating system from Microsoft MSFT +1.75% . This means the primary reason to buy a new smartphone is because you just dropped yours in the toilet.

I have long hoped someone would come out with a smartphone with a built-in Taser. If some long-unemployed thug tries to rob you because he needs to eat, too, you reach for your cellphone, because you can still afford to sign a wireless contract, and zap him. This is my answer to gun control. Unfortunately, it's a bit flawed since most consumers would probably pick up the phone when it rang and tase themselves in the head.

Research In Motion�perhaps in one of its last dying gasps�unveiled two new smartphones last week, the Z10 and the Q10, which run on its BB10 operating system. For the most part, tech-savvy reviewers say these are pretty cool phones. For the most part, market-savvy analysts say they are too late to market.

"Expect a muted consumer response due to [RIM's] damaged brand image," wrote analysts at Evercore Partners EVR +0.57% .

RIM stock slid 12% on Wednesday, the day of its big launch, and continued to soften through the week.

The company's plans to change its name to BlackBerry drew a collective yawn. What's a BlackBerry, again? Apple had nearly driven the BlackBerry to extinction, so this was like renaming the company Betamax.

What really soured the market was the announcement that the new BlackBerrys would not be available in the U.S. until March. Typically, technology is obsolete the second you buy it off the shelf. March?

Unlike most analysts and market observers, though, I would like to applaud RIM for at least trying to stage a comeback. Lesser companies would have rolled over and died by now. Still, I think they would have had a better shot if their new products were available in the next few days following the Super Bowl.

SquareTrade, a cellphone protection-plan provider based in San Francisco, released a study last week showing that 23 million Americans have damaged cellphones or tablets while watching sports.

This is mostly due to fumbles, which break down like this: The standard drop from the hand, 33%; liquid drops, including toilets, sweat and water spills, 18%; beer drops, 13%; passion drops, or devices thrown in anger or excitement, 12%; bar drops, or devices falling from bars or tables, 8%.

Ravens fans are most at risk for a fumble. The study said they are 14% clumsier than 49ers fans. It said 27% of Ravens fans have had a cellphone accident in the past 12 months versus 23% for 49ers fans.

This is a huge market opportunity. BlackBerry just missed it.

[GTiLeo]

what an *****

[Goint]

After the first two paragraphs, the writer quickly descended into madness...

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

Complete and utter joke of an article

[Masahiro]

It's not a bad article until you start reading it.

[katiepea]

yeah i'm not finding any problems with the content of the article, seems to be pretty accurate.

[GTiLeo]

yeah i'm not finding any problems with the content of the article, seems to be pretty accurate.

then you're a clown too his metaphores are ******** the rest of it is accurate

[Shanerredflag]

yeah i'm not finding any problems with the content of the article, seems to be pretty accurate.

How is it as soon as BB launches you magically show up here with your never ending nuggets of ridiculous high brow comments?? Your not adding anything of value...unless of course that's the entire reason your doing it???

You do realize the entire article iwas only written in an attempt to keep negative pressure on BB stock...has nothing to do with the actual device....oh of course you know that.

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

I have long hoped someone would come out with a smartphone with a built-in Taser. If some long-unemployed thug tries to rob you because he needs to eat, too, you reach for your cellphone, because you can still afford to sign a wireless contract, and zap him. This is my answer to gun control. Unfortunately, it's a bit flawed since most consumers would probably pick up the phone when it rang and tase themselves in the head

I actually would have fallen over in laughter here were I already not laid in bed while reading this! That is so brilliantly off-the-wall it's unreal! But yes, the article does seem very badly written. Keep the negative pressure coming WSJ. Because it looks like BB10 and WP8 (if WP8 can fix up its glitches, thanks to the fact you won't get the triple-partnership of BB, Apple, and Google) are going to make Apple's iPhone go down.

[katiepea]

How is it as soon as BB launches you magically show up here with your never ending nuggets of ridiculous high brow comments?? Your not adding anything of value...unless of course that's the entire reason your doing it???

You do realize the entire article iwas only written in an attempt to keep negative pressure on BB stock...has nothing to do with the actual device....oh of course you know that.

You're * fixed that for you, in all seriousness though I've been around for days talking about how badly I want a z10, not sure why you would start a personal attack on a community member who's probably owned more bb's than you and excited about the new product? You seem to be having a bad day, hope it ends well. How's that for contributing?

[aminrajabi]

You're * fixed that for you, in all seriousness though I've been around for days talking about how badly I want a z10, not sure why you would start a personal attack on a community member who's probably owned more bb's than you and excited about the new product? You seem to be having a bad day, hope it ends well. How's that for contributing?

You have every right to be here and express your opinion, but based on your forum comments since returning, you sure have a strange way of showing your enthusiasm.

[anon(5624621)]

In fairness, there are really only two things wrong with this article. Style and content.

[peter9477]

Over-the-top article is over the top.

[Shanerredflag]

Hmmm...that was special for sure, thanks. Just pointing out the facts, you have also said "nothing compelling enough to convince you to switch", ..and just a whole bunch of other lovely tidbits of awesomeness...just look at your own posts and zee what conclusion you would draw....yes I said zee.

If I'm totally mistaken...apologies
Nothing personal and don't want you offended...
Game Day...going to be great!

[GTiLeo]

You have every right to be here and express your opinion, but based on your forum comments since returning, you sure have a strange way of showing your enthusiasm.

exactly

[njblackberry]

You guys are killing yourselves insulting anyone who disagrees with your mindset.

Tell everyone, what is factually wrong with the article (and not that "it is poorly written and u ar stooped").

What is factually wrong.

This is going to be fun.

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

You guys are killing yourselves insulting anyone who disagrees with your mindset.

Tell everyone, what is factually wrong with the article (and not that "it is poorly written and u ar stooped").

What is factually wrong.

This is going to be fun.

I'll be honest, the reason I said it seemed that way was me trying to avoid getting flamed myself. I'm not the sort of person that likes conflict (and have been known to take to some extreme measures to get out of it. Example, fall out with a couple of cheerleaders, block the WHOLE squad on Facebook! Yes, I actually did this!)

[silversun10]

that is a very funny article, the only thing i disagree with is the last line.
the taser part was hilarious and he painted a picture of how people will need phones,
before BB10 Blackberry was shut out of the Apple type smart phones and now
they are in that too, so how could that be a negative?

[anon(5624621)]

You guys are killing yourselves insulting anyone who disagrees with your mindset.

Tell everyone, what is factually wrong with the article (and not that "it is poorly written and u ar stooped").

What is factually wrong.

This is going to be fun.

Actually I had no problem with his facts. I *did* think it was poorly written, but mostly just kind of ridiculous. Are a lot of people really going to wreck their old phones while watching the superbowl and thus present a missed opportunity for BB10? And the taser thing? It was just a silly blog-type article, and I would have thought it silly even if he had replaced BB with WP8 or whatever.

[njblackberry]

If you want to REALLY get angry at a poorly written, terrible article, check this one out.

BlackBerry Needed "Wow" - Delivered "Pretty Good" (AAPL, MSFT, RIMM)

One small quote from the article:

"First, the company revealed that it was renaming itself to BlackBerry and giving itself a new ticker symbol BBRY. This, it might be argued, was the biggest head-turning part of the event (other than cutting some random fan's ponytail off). A name (Research in Motion) that meant absolutely nothing to consumers and investors alike will soon be gone."

Now, you can be outraged. Get the pitchforks out!

[13david77]

Funny, I did actually drop my 9850 in a toilet, now I'm stuck with the curve9350 until march

[vespajet]

That article is so bad that I'm guessing he used to do articles for Yahoo!

[TorinAldred]

I would say that the author took a satirical approach. There are positives though, he's pretty clear that BlackBerry can meet the competition head on, there is no fundemental gap anymore. For those who actually read through the article I think Katie is actually right (I never thought I'd say that) and the article resonates with what a large portion of the US BlackBerry faithful feel. There is a ton of money being spend ont he superbowl and it's a shame the phones won't be available immediately after. There isn't much to do for it but to me it reads like Johnathan Swift without the same degree of eloquence.

[LuvULongTime]

You guys are killing yourselves insulting anyone who disagrees with your mindset.

Tell everyone, what is factually wrong with the article (and not that "it is poorly written and u ar stooped").

What is factually wrong.

This is going to be fun.

The article is an opinion piece. There aren't a lot facts in it to dispute. He thinks RIM is too late to the party. For every person that agrees with him, you will find others who disagree. Only time will tell.

As for the March launch in the US. Again, some people believe it is a missed opportunity. Others think a one month delay is not a big deal, while others think it is a blessing in disguise. It gives RIM time to fix bugs, and also provide devs more time to submit their finished apps (you know, the ones you've been complaining loudly about).

[Rickroller]

You guys are killing yourselves insulting anyone who disagrees with your mindset.

Tell everyone, what is factually wrong with the article (and not that "it is poorly written and u ar stooped").

What is factually wrong.

This is going to be fun.

Actually, I could find very little wrong with the article, even if it was "an opinion piece".

Here's what I think of the new BlackBerry. It's a phone.

This is true. It is a phone.

Nobody is going to camp out in front of a store, like some rock-band groupie, to buy it.

There were line ups in the UK, but i'm not sure that qualifies for camping out, or if they were in fact, rock-band groupies.

Nobody is going to win a happy-hour debate over which phone is better: the BlackBerry Z10, the Apple iPhone 5, the Galaxy S III by Samsung, the Lumia 920 by Nokia, or even the Nexus 4, which runsGoogle's Android operating system.

Agreed. Although we tirelessly go round and round on these forums, generally nobody's opinion gets swayed.

They are all cool. They all have apps and features most people will never use.

Again. Completely true.

Smartphone technology has swiftly reached the point where most future improvements will be incremental. This means that from now on launches of new smartphones will be about as exciting as the latest operating system from Microsoft. This means the primary reason to buy a new smartphone is because you just dropped yours in the toilet.

True, although another reason is if your smartphone contract is up.

Research In Motion�perhaps in one of its last dying gasps�unveiled two new smartphones last week, the Z10 and the Q10, which run on its BB10 operating system. For the most part, tech-savvy reviewers say these are pretty cool phones. For the most part, market-savvy analysts say they are too late to market.

Again, true. Most reviewers are pleased with the new OS, and yet, the market isn't sure this will save them. Markets are finicky though, and to try to dispute why market trends go up and down is above and beyond most of us on this forum.

RIM stock slid 12% on Wednesday, the day of its big launch, and continued to soften through the week.

True.

The company's plans to change its name to BlackBerry drew a collective yawn. What's a BlackBerry, again? Apple had nearly driven the BlackBerry to extinction, so this was like renaming the company Betamax.

Opinionated, but not untrue. Most of the general population considered ANY phone by RIM a Blackberry, and thus called them that. To change the name from RIM doesn't really mean squat to most people.

What really soured the market was the announcement that the new BlackBerrys would not be available in the U.S. until March. Typically, technology is obsolete the second you buy it off the shelf. March?

VERY true. Whatever the reasoning behind this, we all know nobody in the US likes it, and we have plenty of threads here to vouch for that.

Unlike most analysts and market observers, though, I would like to applaud RIM for at least trying to stage a comeback. Lesser companies would have rolled over and died by now. Still, I think they would have had a better shot if their new products were available in the next few days following the Super Bowl.

Seems the author is genuine to me..Lesser companies would have rolled over, but RIM errr BB is fighting back. And you can not dispute that it would have been better if products were available to the US market following the Super Bowl, considering the amount of $$ they're spending on an ad.

So again, what is wrong with the article exactly? Or did the fanboys just read the title and immediately begin wailing and gnashing the teeth?