[nyc_rock]

I was looking for the 9900 on ATT this past weekend and went into two stores. When I asked for the Bold I got an incredulous look. Like, "Why in the world do you want a blackberry??". It wasnt just a look either becuase after that first awkward stare, both sales people flat out said, "why do you want a blackberry?". Followed up with, "you dont really want a blackberry". Now, I know all about blackberry. I know all about Android and IOS. I was making a concious choice to try the blackberry. I already have an Iphone 4S and right before that I had the Samsung Galaxy S2 so I really didnt need thier help in making my decision. My wife used to be a avid BB user and we happened to be next to a Verizon store, so I decided I would show her the new bold. We went in and I asked for it and I got the same exact reaction. Like, "Dude, you really dont want to look at the Bold".

The only point to this is that BB is going to have a hard enough time regaining its position as a sought after brand. But with this outright hostility to it by the very people who are selling it, the chips are stacked significantly against RIM.

[mark37724]

There is such an incredible Blackberry backlash in the US, being Canadian I really don't see it first hand and am not sure why this has occurred. I would like to post to an Android or Apple forum to see why there is such a fierce hate-on for bb. I'm no advocate for any product but don't understand such hostility by the sales people. I think they are just post-teenagers that do not want to promote something that doesn't have several hundred thousand games on it.

[protomaxxx]

rim's got to work on its image

[ALToronto]

Of course the carriers are hostile - they don't make nearly as much money from a BB as they do from the other platforms because BBs don't use so much data - customers can get away with a cheaper data plan. The sales reps are simply repeating what the management told them, or perhaps the lower revenue is reflected in their commission.

Another brilliant marketing move by Apple - make its products attractive to the carriers, and have the carriers hype the products. Just imagine all those 8MP photos syncing between phones, iPads and desktops. And the extra data plans sold with the iPads or Droid tablets.

Blackberry makes products that benefit its end users, but the end users are not its customers - the carriers are. Only the people outside the US realize the value of BBs.

[palmless]

Blackberry is getting the reverse edge of a two-edged sword.

In the heyday of the super pager era, how many people were handed a blackberry and told "Learn to deal with it. We don't allow anything else."

Now that the businesses are making business decisions and not IT decisions, you have an entire generation of users who remember when they "had to" use a blackberry.

Rebellion follows, and not everyone is real nice about it.

Double-edged sword. Tons of units sold when "choice" meant a 9700 or a 9780. But a backlash once that choice is expanded to "anything".

The salespeople in the kiosks and stores sell to consumers, not enterprises, and they do keep track of what stays sold and what comes back. That influences their behavior.

[nyc_rock]

Of course the carriers are hostile - they don't make nearly as much money from a BB as they do from the other platforms because BBs don't use so much data - customers can get away with a cheaper data plan. The sales reps are simply repeating what the management told them, or perhaps the lower revenue is reflected in their commission.

Another brilliant marketing move by Apple - make its products attractive to the carriers, and have the carriers hype the products. Just imagine all those 8MP photos syncing between phones, iPads and desktops. And the extra data plans sold with the iPads or Droid tablets.

Blackberry makes products that benefit its end users, but the end users are not its customers - the carriers are. Only the people outside the US realize the value of BBs.

I can understand this up to a point. The positive outcome of any exchange of goods and services are both participants being satisfied with the end result. I think its incredibly short sighted to let that affect what product you recommend to a person. I am not saying that they should be pimping blackberry's but they should be asking questions to understand what my needs are. Again, I know what my needs are so for me it was just off putting, but what if someone walked in looking for thier first smartphone? They may not want apps or do a lot of web browsing. For them, a blackberry could be a great fit.

Truthfully, if this is the carriers strategic decision, they are ultimately hurting themselves and the credibility of thier salespeople.

[mjs416]

If they are really being that bad to you - request to speak with their manager. To ask you why you might prefer one device to another is one thing. To tell you that you dont want a specific product when you do is pure buffoonery

[Spencerdl]

It appears that some where along the line, phones became TOYS (games, apps, games, photos, and more games), the industry has changed to accommodate this new "happenning". The carriers make more money on these type of phones for various reasons; new phone every 3 weeks, new app every 24hrs, new game every 10 min....so on and so on. The, dare I say, "younger generation" wants the newest NOW, where as the mature generation has more patience and understands that more does NOT necessarily mean better and we don't have to have the newest and greatest thing since sliced bread. If the phone does what we need thats good enough until the next upgrade . The Blackberry phone was designed to be a mobile office NOT a mobile gaming system

[teknishun]

It appears that some where along the line, phones became TOYS (games, apps, games, photos, and more games), the industry has changed to accommodate this new "happenning". The carriers make more money on these type of phones for various reasons; new phone every 3 weeks, new app every 24hrs, new game every 10 min....so on and so on. The, dare I say, "younger generation" wants the newest NOW, where as the mature generation has more patience and understands that more does NOT necessarily mean better and we don't have to have the newest and greatest thing since sliced bread. If the phone does what we need thats good enough until the next upgrade . The Blackberry phone was designed to be a mobile office NOT a mobile gaming system

Uh huh.

[KB1964]

Until Blackberry sells as much as Iphones and Androids, they won't get the respect they deserve. I didn't have that situation when I went into Verizon to ask about the Bold. The guy who tried to help me knew less about the Bold then I did. .

[GingerSnapsBack]

The Blackberry phone was designed to be a mobile office NOT a mobile gaming system

And that is why BB is losing market share. People want gaming phones. People want apps. Why else does iOS and Android sell so well? They give the public what it wants. BB does, but to a lesser extent.

[mjs416]

And that is why BB is losing market share. People want gaming phones. People want apps. Why else does iOS and Android sell so well? They give the public what it wants. BB does, but to a lesser extent.

Which actually says alot about the priorities of the average smart phone user too.

"Build something that's foolproof, and only a fool will use it."

[mullrat]

Typical of bb users to call real smart phones "toys". Let me ask you how does the bb do in the real world when you don't have a fax machine? Real smart phones have multitudes l Apps that can scan document on the fly Or if you have a file in the office and need to vnc to your work system 500 miles way. There is no solution there. The reason bb's are popular is te amount of control admins can institute on them. And they're cheap. Please don't call them a "mobile office". That's false advertising.

Blackberries are the new toys. They're the gifts for 12 year old girls who like texting. Excuse me bbm'ing.

[GingerSnapsBack]

Which actually says alot about the priorities of the average smart phone user too.

"Build something that's foolproof, and only a fool will use it."

I see it as the priorities are in line. Last night, for example, I was under several tornado warnings from 8PM until well past midnight. When my power went out, I was able to use an app on my iPhone called LiveStream and watch WMC out of Memphis and watch live weather coverage to see if I needed to bend over and kiss my fanny (since we can't say the 4 letter word that starts with B and ends with UTT) goobye. BB doesn't have an app like that and when you're under 2 tornado warnings at once and your power is out, you need to be informed. Not only did I have that app going, I also have NOAA Radio as well as NOAA radar. Again, BB doesn't have either.

But getting back to the topic at hand, last year when I went in for my S2, all of the sales people I talked to looked at me as if I was nuts. I had to have my S2 FedExed to the Verizon store because they didn't have one in stock. They had a handfull of Curves and I think one Bold. The rest were iPhones and Android phones. WSPs stock what sells. Android and iPhones sell. I should have listened back then, but as we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

[yalervp]

I got the same reaction when I went to several Verizon stores before I picked up my Bold 9930. The sales people that setup shop in the malls were incredibly lacking in knowledge about BB. At the official verizon stores, they asked three different times if I was sure that I wanted a BB and of course, suggested that I take a look at an android instead. I told them, "I've tried an android for the last year, it was a cool toy, but I want a smartphone that works for me and BB does it well." They still looked at me like I had three heads.

[belfastdispatcher]

I see it as the priorities are in line. Last night, for example, I was under several tornado warnings from 8PM until well past midnight. When my power went out, I was able to use an app on my iPhone called LiveStream and watch WMC out of Memphis and watch live weather coverage to see if I needed to bend over and kiss my fanny (since we can't say the 4 letter word that starts with B and ends with UTT) goobye. BB doesn't have an app like that and when you're under 2 tornado warnings at once and your power is out, you need to be informed. Not only did I have that app going, I also have NOAA Radio as well as NOAA radar. Again, BB doesn't have either.

But getting back to the topic at hand, last year when I went in for my S2, all of the sales people I talked to looked at me as if I was nuts. I had to have my S2 FedExed to the Verizon store because they didn't have one in stock. They had a handfull of Curves and I think one Bold. The rest were iPhones and Android phones. WSPs stock what sells. Android and iPhones sell. I should have listened back then, but as we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

Lol, so when your power goes out you start streaming live on your battery powered device?

I would've thought push tornado warnings would make more sense.

[yalervp]

Actually accuweather for blackberry does a pretty good job for this. We've had tornado warnings down here in Georgia for the last couple of days and I got faster weather updates from the app than from the "breaking news" segment on TV. Plus my battery didn't need charging for another day even though it's a pretty graphic intensive app that was updating info frequently. Checkmate.

[Tre Lawrence]

Some BB users really do believe that they have cornered the "serious cellphone use" market.

Funny.

Mobile post via Tapatalk

[Chrisy]

People, get a crank NOAA radio with alerts. You're not taking survival seriously at all.

If my power went out due to a major storm, you better believe I'm not streaming anything on any phone. That phone is needed for phone calls and SMS only at that point.

[GingerSnapsBack]

Lol, so when your power goes out you start streaming live on your battery powered device?

I would've thought push tornado warnings would make more sense.

Tornado warnings can often be misleading. Storms change direction. A storm heading right towards my house made a left turn and started heading away from my house last April. Had I not had my TV on at the time, I wouldn't have known this. Last year, a single storm spawned four tornadoes over my city. One near me, two in front of me and the same tornado that made the turn and skipped my house. I also have a charger for my truck so if the power stays off for days at a time like it did back in April, I still have access to my phone. At the most, I use my phone for half an hour to an hour at a time, just until the danger has passed. After the storm settled down, I turned off LiveStream and looked at the radar on NOAA. I want real time LIVE updates from a weatherman, not some text warning from the NOAA office in Little Rock. I want to know where the storm is at all times and what it's doing. If that means I have to use my battery powered iPhone to find out, then so be it. Anyone in tornado alley will appreciate this. I've also had a tornado spawn from a thunderstorm that had no warnings. NOAA didn't issue a tornado warning but a trained spotter saw one and called it in. The news people warned everyone about what the spotter saw. NOAA not issuing a warning = no notification. That particular storm with no warning but a confirmed tornado from more than one spotter blew over and destroyed half of my fence and my neighbor lost the roof to her house.

Actually accuweather for blackberry does a pretty good job for this. We've had tornado warnings down here in Georgia for the last couple of days and I got faster weather updates from the app than from the "breaking news" segment on TV. Plus my battery didn't need charging for another day even though it's a pretty graphic intensive app that was updating info frequently. Checkmate.

No, not checkmate. Glad that depending on notifications works for you. I prefer to have real time updates from my news station rather than some push notification from Accuweather or in my case, THV weather and the Weather Channel. Notifications can be delayed or late at any given time. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Having lived through a dozen or more tornadoes in my 30+ years of being alive, a dead cell phone battery after the storms pass and the skies clear is a heck of a lot better than my sister finding my dead body in a tree four counties over because I had no way to watch the weather because my power was out. I had a 100% charge when my TV went out. Even after an hour or more usage of the app, I had about 90% charge left. It wasn't dead. Not anywhere close to being dead.

I also don't have access to a TV everywhere I go. Last night, I was at the barn with my horses when it started getting bad. Turned on LiveStream to see what was going on. I finished up there and drove home. You do what works for you and I'll continue to do what works for me. Checkmate.

[drudometkin]

When i bought my bionic last september at costco had the sales guy tell me I should check out the bold "cause its actually pretty good".

[TgeekB]

Tunein Radio for BB has live NOAA radio for every segment of the country and any local radio station I want to listen to. I can get live radar for my area with alerts on my BB. Works for me.

[[email protected]]

Of course the carriers are hostile - they don't make nearly as much money from a BB as they do from the other platforms because BBs don't use so much data - customers can get away with a cheaper data plan. The sales reps are simply repeating what the management told them, or perhaps the lower revenue is reflected in their commission.

Another brilliant marketing move by Apple - make its products attractive to the carriers, and have the carriers hype the products. Just imagine all those 8MP photos syncing between phones, iPads and desktops. And the extra data plans sold with the iPads or Droid tablets.

Blackberry makes products that benefit its end users, but the end users are not its customers - the carriers are. Only the people outside the US realize the value of BBs.

Ridiculous post. So America is reason that R.I.M fell behind?

I'm in New York city and have been with Sprint since two days after 9-11. I switched to Sprint because they were the only provider that didn't lose service when the Towers fell.

My plan is unlimited across the board. I can talk, txt, surf, download all day for $99 bucks a month.

The Sprint store in my hood doesn't promote the BB either. They have the Bold on display, but I promise you, if I sat there all I day, I could probably count the folks who ask about it on one hand.

Companies like AT&T and Verizon eliminated their "unlimited" for consumers because they could no longer afford to to subsidize the large amounts of data that people were consuming. I encourage people to switch to Sprint all the time. Some do.

What AAPL did was look at the numbers and built phones/accordingly. Consumers are downloading like crazy and things like apps to occupy their downtime. Not the other way around.

Maybe we here in the U.S. aren't as smart as the rest of you, but some of us are more informed.

Cheers!

[belfastdispatcher]

LOL, now we know why networks jam in natural disasters time, people watch live tv, just imagine if everybody on your cell tower would do the same.

[[email protected]]

Some BB users really do believe that they have cornered the "serious cellphone use" market.

Funny.

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Y'up. And that everyone else is an for not being as "Smart" as they are.

Ironic actually.