1. Roo Zilla's Avatar
    You reckon? I travel all over the place and given roaming costs, data compression is absolutely critical to me. Colleagues with their iPhones turn roaming off because of the extortionate cost involved due to the amount of data they would use.
    Tell your colleagues to install Snappli or Onavo. Both do data compression on iPhone when not on WiFi.
    12-24-12 03:44 AM
  2. Banco's Avatar
    Yet your colleagues buy iPhones. That's the problem --- they are willing to buy the iPhone, use wifi to get the full internet and all the youtube videos. And they are willing to turn off roaming once in a while when they are away.
    Sure. And they moan about it constantly, and one has bought himself a cheap BlackBerry to use on his overseas trips. The comment was that it had zero value in the west, that's complete nonsense, it has a significant value.
    12-24-12 05:34 AM
  3. Banco's Avatar
    Tell your colleagues to install Snappli or Onavo. Both do data compression on iPhone when not on WiFi.
    Ta...
    12-24-12 05:35 AM
  4. samab's Avatar
    data compression is only a means. a means to what? cheaper handphone bills. consumers don't care about the means they only want the end. can RIM prove that their data compression technology can lead to lower handphone bills? is the cost savings (after deducting rim tax) alluring enough for consumers to abandon their current ecosystems to move over to a completely new platform; or are the savings merely a handful of dollars a month?
    We can conclusively prove that a h.264 video cannot be compressed any further --- and the first world smartphone users want to want youtube videos.

    As to abandoning their current ecosystems --- it only matters to iPhone users because they actually pay for stuff. Android users don't pay for anything --- so it doesn't cost them money to abandon the android ecosystem.
    12-24-12 12:13 PM
  5. samab's Avatar
    Sure. And they moan about it constantly, and one has bought himself a cheap BlackBerry to use on his overseas trips. The comment was that it had zero value in the west, that's complete nonsense, it has a significant value.
    RIM would go out of business catering to people who want to use Blackberrys for their 2 week overseas vacation. You target what people buy and use 50 weeks out of the 52 weeks in a year, not the 2 week vacation.
    12-24-12 12:16 PM
  6. austriker's Avatar
    Im very surprised that RIMM would consider charging for BBM. Honestly the advantage of it is gone; no one really uses it anymore (I have moved on to android; and am US biased, being thats my experience). If they started charging a flat one time charge or reoccuring charge it would be advantageous. Most young folks have unlimited messaging and while I know BBM is sms on steriods, most would question why they are paying for unlimited data and a SMS service that only goes to the 3% of people who use BBM.

    Of course it all hinges on how popular bb10 will be (fingers crossed) and if they release BBM to other carriers (Im still on the fence about that as its authentically a bb service and Id be jealous if other platforms got it but imagine using it 24/7 to message anyone.. wow..). I like the idea of making the basic bbm free and an upgrade for video/voice, although I dont honestly think Id suscribe to pay for it unless people really jumped on the bbm platform, which might not happen..
    12-25-12 07:00 AM
  7. imcurved's Avatar
    Heins on conference call regarding RIM's BIS/BES service revenues:

    BRIEF-RIM to tier service fees based on customer requirements
    6:06pm EST

    TORONTO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd :

    * Chief executive Thorsten Heins says service fees will be tiered based on what customers require in terms of security, manageability, other services
    * CEO Heins says looking to develop blackberry messenger service to create additional service revenue
    * CEO Heins says carriers are committed to spending marketing dollars to promote blackberry 10 devices
    * Chief financial officer Brian Bidulka says average revenue per user declined last quarter as company worked to maintain subscriber base
    * CEO Heins says may still introduce new blackberry 7 models for more cost-conscious parts of the world



    BRIEF-RIM to tier service fees based on customer requirements | Reuters
    I think charging for BBM in North America market is a very bad idea.
    12-25-12 12:08 PM
  8. the_kid_hartford's Avatar
    something this big tied to revenue on a company already with 2 strikes seems like a mistake and RIM cannot afford even the perception of a mistake.......they played this cavalier and it sort of backfired on them......again, it does not matter how RIM plays out to its loyal followers, we are going to be there.....it is how it plays out on wallstreet, mainstreet and those on the fence......and this looks like another, whoops.....oh by the way, we are changing.......
    12-25-12 12:22 PM
  9. samab's Avatar
    Im very surprised that RIMM would consider charging for BBM.
    There are many ways to get revenue from BBM without charging end users any money.
    12-25-12 12:23 PM
  10. austriker's Avatar
    it is how it plays out on wallstreet, mainstreet and those on the fence....
    exactly!
    12-25-12 02:35 PM
  11. muhammadawais94's Avatar
    Guys will bb 7 users be among those who will not pay for service charges?
    12-31-12 12:57 AM
  12. howarmat's Avatar
    Guys will bb 7 users be among those who will not pay for service charges?
    no bb7 devices should continue along the same paths they are in now. They will still have the old BIS setup
    12-31-12 04:59 AM
  13. muhammadawais94's Avatar
    Do you mean to say that BIS will be free for os 7 users?
    12-31-12 05:04 AM
  14. kevinnugent's Avatar
    Do you mean to say that BIS will be free for os 7 users?
    Haha. I doubt it very much!
    12-31-12 06:46 AM
  15. yabanumay's Avatar
    Found this ad on youtube. It comes from an official blackberry account:

    12-31-12 03:17 PM
  16. cjcampbell's Avatar
    Found this ad on youtube. It comes from an official blackberry account:

    Interesting.... I've said it before in another thread... I think.... That given the choice, I'd stay with what I have now which is full BIS service.
    12-31-12 03:33 PM
  17. yabanumay's Avatar
    Interesting.... I've said it before in another thread... I think.... That given the choice, I'd stay with what I have now which is full BIS service.
    I agree looks like alot of value for so little to pay
    12-31-12 03:35 PM
  18. cjcampbell's Avatar
    I agree looks like alot of value for so little to pay
    That, and for what I pay a month, and the amount of data that actually gets used, the features that I have, the fact that I have 4 emails coming to my phone, and the price comparison to other platforms (yes, I've looked into it), I'm quite happy with with what I've got..... well not happy but compared to others, they simply can't, or won't match my features, coverage, and price, all in one.
    12-31-12 04:09 PM
  19. Joy1980's Avatar
    Found this ad on youtube. It comes from an official blackberry account:

    I live in the Caribbean and our BIS plans are very similar to those in the video. Having tiered plans are not new to us so I do not think that it would be confusing to us. But I don't believe that you have had tiered BIS plans in NA & Europe, do you think that the media will use it as a reason to bash? RIM has trimmed their device offerings but have complicated the service offerings?

    Also, what if the full BIS we know now is the basic/free plan, what groups do you think they would create in the tiers or what groups would you like?
    01-01-13 04:57 AM
  20. bk1022's Avatar
    There is fundamentally something wrong with RIM. Don't believe me? Then why hasn't RIM released an Android VPN client with a subscription fee equivalent to the current BIS fee that bestows some BIS-like capabilities to Android devices? (specifically data transmission efficiency and encryption) Why is RIM always a year or two behind what is obvious? I realize that the recent news is hinting that they may be going in that direction, but RIM should be able to make more money doing this than making BB10 phones. So they need to get over themselves and find ways to make money.

    RIM has the infrastructure and the patents, and carriers can't stop them. Carriers need competition in the hardware space and they aren't going to tell people they can't run data compression on their phones -- no matter how much they would be annoyed by this.
    01-01-13 10:50 PM
  21. narci's Avatar
    Anyone remember 'Blackberry Connect'?

    Maybe they will revive it?
    01-01-13 11:37 PM
  22. Rjinswand's Avatar
    Found this ad on youtube. It comes from an official blackberry account:

    That's an ad released in September for new plans for the current BIS options in South Africa. Here's an overview.
    I hope that's not the model RIM is following for worldwide BB10 plans. The PlayBook is my first and so far only BlackBerry device. After a few weeks with it, I wanted to accompany it with a BB Smartphone - the first time I took a look into RIM's other devices. What held me back immediately was when I found out about the additional monthly cost in BIS (BlackBerry-Option, O2 Germany, 5�/month). I won't pay more for using a Smartphone like a Smartphone and really don't care about data compression and the like. If the Smartphone basics (browsing (you have to pay an extra fee to have an access to the internet at all? Are you kidding me?), web email account integration, Appworld access, etc.) are not free with BB10, it will be a W8 phone for me.
    01-02-13 03:42 AM
  23. xandermac's Avatar
    I think some people are missing the point. It doesn't matter what you're willing to pay, or what RIM want to charge. It comes down to what the carriers are willing to do. As it stands right now, in the U.S. on AT&T (for example) you pay $30 for 3gb of data. If the customer is a BB user AT&T have to pay RIM a portion of that $30 as service revenue. AT&T do not have to pay this fee to any other manufacturer or service provider. With RIM switching to ActiveSync there is absolutely no reason for AT&T to pay them a penny anymore as all other devices utilize the same service for free. There used to be a benefit to the carrier for this revenue sharing but not any longer, not for the BB. So that leaves a couple of options.

    #1, The RIMtax gets added onto your bill as an additional fee. The problem here is twofold. First, the customer suddenly starts paying extra for the privileged of using a BB. Second, AT&T have to foot the bill for the cost of setup/billing/administration etc (even more complicated if the services are tiered). This takes away from their "simple" rate plans and adds overhead that they don't experience from Android or iOS.

    #2 RIM direct bill customers for the level of tiered service that they choose to use. This way RIM absorb the cost of setup/billing/administration etc, but the customer is still faced with an additional monthly fee that seemingly came out of the blue. Not to mention the extra hassle to the consumer.

    I believe option #2 is what will happen, I also think it's doomed to fail. The consumer will be expected to pay extra for a service this is arguably lacking compared to the competition (iCloud, Google Cloud services etc). Sure, remote security is nice (even though the competition all offer this), BBM is nice, but people expect A LOT MORE than that AND they expect it to be included for FREE. They want music and movies in the cloud, their photos synced and backed up etc...

    I suppose there is a 3rd option. RIM give up on service revenue completely and there is no RIMtax (quite likely without carrier supported billing). Remove that barrier, develop some decent cloud services and get some big name developers on board and they'll be onto the start of something. This way the carrier will still be involved but RIM would probably have to cover their costs (they'd have to cover my costs for sure, it's not like they're a big revenue draw anymore).

    The way I see it, RIM are at the mercy of the big carriers and will pretty much go along with whatever the carrier is willing to do. Or throw a bunch of cash at the carriers to support these tiered services, with revenue this time going back to the carrier, not vice-versa. I honestly don't think a consumer will be willing to pay extra for this.

    (This opinion is expressed from the point of view of an American consumer. However, looking at RIM's numbers that's a very important region and will most likely set the stage for the rest of the world).
    Last edited by xandermac; 01-04-13 at 07:21 AM.
    01-04-13 06:47 AM
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