1. tazcubed's Avatar
    I saw this article on the Verge, and it's interesting to see how TCL handles upgrading Android - ie. non-existent/doesn't happen.

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/4/20...reble-mainline

    It makes sense as many have wondered why the Key2 never saw an upgrade, although in the originating article from Counterpoint Research (embedded in the Verge article), I'd hardly call the Key2 a short-term phone much like the rest of TCL's portfolio.

    IF TCL still produces another Blackberry (and I'm highly skeptical there's another one coming) I wonder what tactics TCL will take. Given that the Key2 is now 1.5 years old since it's launch, I would prefer to know that the next phone would be upgraded or expect a discount on the value of the phone should they choose no upgrade option.
    12-26-19 12:46 PM
  2. conite's Avatar
    I saw this article on the Verge, and it's interesting to see how TCL handles upgrading Android - ie. non-existent/doesn't happen.

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/4/20...reble-mainline

    It makes sense as many have wondered why the Key2 never saw an upgrade, although in the originating article from Counterpoint Research (embedded in the Verge article), I'd hardly call the Key2 a short-term phone much like the rest of TCL's portfolio.

    IF TCL still produces another Blackberry (and I'm highly skeptical there's another one coming) I wonder what tactics TCL will take. Given that the Key2 is now 1.5 years old since it's launch, I would prefer to know that the next phone would be upgraded or expect a discount on the value of the phone should they choose no upgrade option.
    The KEYᵒⁿᵉ and Motion got their OS update.

    The KEY² didn't because the licencing agreement has basically collapsed.

    Security patches for all have been outstanding however.
    12-26-19 02:04 PM
  3. Laura Knotek's Avatar
    Other than the phones labelled as "BlackBerry", the other TCL phones sold in the USA are branded as "Alcatel", cost around $50 and only have 16 GB storage space. The brand is as cheap as cheap can be, so any updates aren't to be expected.
    12-26-19 03:15 PM
  4. tazcubed's Avatar
    The KEYᵒⁿᵉ and Motion got their OS update.

    The KEY² didn't because the licencing agreement has basically collapsed.

    Security patches for all have been outstanding however.
    Just out of curiosity, which licensing agreement collapsed? I'm sure there's several. I'm assuming you mean Android and not Blackberry proprietary.
    12-26-19 03:32 PM
  5. conite's Avatar
    Just out of curiosity, which licensing agreement collapsed? I'm sure there's several. I'm assuming you mean Android and not Blackberry proprietary.
    BlackBerry / TCL most recently.

    BlackBerry / Optiemus about a year ago.
    12-26-19 03:40 PM
  6. Emaderton3's Avatar
    Other than the phones labelled as "BlackBerry", the other TCL phones sold in the USA are branded as "Alcatel", cost around $50 and only have 16 GB storage space. The brand is as cheap as cheap can be, so any updates aren't to be expected.
    You get what you pay for.
    Laura Knotek likes this.
    12-26-19 03:54 PM
  7. tazcubed's Avatar
    BlackBerry / TCL most recently.

    BlackBerry / Optiemus about a year ago.
    So, does this mean Blackberry/TCL contracts are kaput officially? Is this why Chen speculated about getting back into the business?
    12-26-19 04:20 PM
  8. conite's Avatar
    So, does this mean Blackberry/TCL contracts are kaput officially? Is this why Chen speculated about getting back into the business?
    Chen was joking. BlackBerry will never touch devices again.

    Nothing is official. But the chances TCL will do anything other than quietly ride out the rest of their contract is nil.
    Laura Knotek likes this.
    12-26-19 04:29 PM
  9. tazcubed's Avatar
    Chen was joking. BlackBerry will never touch devices again.

    Nothing is official. But the chances TCL will do anything other than quietly ride out the rest of their contract is nil.
    WOW!

    When the CEO of Blackberry jokes about that, that's a sad day for the company.

    So is the demise of Blackberry handsets.

    What a way to go out with a whimper.
    12-26-19 05:04 PM
  10. John Albert's Avatar
    Still not the end. TCL might surprise us. Who knows!
    12-26-19 05:14 PM
  11. conite's Avatar
    Still not the end. TCL might surprise us. Who knows!
    Lead time with certification is around 6 months. Nothing there either.
    12-26-19 06:21 PM
  12. bb10adopter111's Avatar
    Unfortunately, BlackBerry has been reduced to the least innovative feature in its phones, the 20 year-old PKB. They never made an effective argument for their relevance as an Android device. None of their Android features or apps, including the Hub, were game-changers, and that's what they would have needed.

    Even in these forums there were endless complaints about the cameras, which was something where BlackBerry could never have completed with the R&D spent by companies like Samsung and Apple.

    From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.
    tazcubed likes this.
    12-26-19 06:52 PM
  13. Emaderton3's Avatar
    WOW!

    When the CEO of Blackberry jokes about that, that's a sad day for the company.

    So is the demise of Blackberry handsets.

    What a way to go out with a whimper.
    You don't appear to be new to this site . . .
    12-26-19 06:59 PM
  14. the_boon's Avatar
    Still not the end. TCL might surprise us. Who knows!
    BlackBerry KEY2 Blue Edition at MWC!

    Just $849 and you'll get 3 months of updates!
    pgg101 and app_Developer like this.
    12-26-19 07:04 PM
  15. tazcubed's Avatar
    You don't appear to be new to this site . . .
    No, but haven't been here for a while either since there's been zero development and zero news for a while.

    I'm not being naive, but I wasn't aware that Chen was joking as that indicates what he truly thinks of handset business. I guess in hindsight, that was always his direction but the hope was something might improve.
    12-26-19 08:07 PM
  16. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    No, but haven't been here for a while either since there's been zero development and zero news for a while.

    I'm not being naive, but I wasn't aware that Chen was joking as that indicates what he truly thinks of handset business. I guess in hindsight, that was always his direction but the hope was something might improve.
    Unfortunately, from the beginning, it seems BlackBerry was always just a dwarf among giants.
    12-26-19 09:01 PM
  17. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Unfortunately, from the beginning, it seems BlackBerry was always just a dwarf among giants.
    But how big were the giants back then? It really wasn't till consumers really started buying phones - 2010 - 2013, that Apple took off.

    BlackBerry was a pretty big company that was VERY profitable. If they hadn't left Verizon holding a empty bag in 2009 - no iPhone and nothing to compete against the iPhone. Where would Android have been, if the STORM had been a success?

    BlackBerry didn't loose because they were too small. They lost because they were focused on what they taught people should want, and not on what people actually wanted. Mike and Jim where stuck, and by the time they changed course.... they were years behind.

    Microsoft showed it wasn't about how big you were, but how good you were...
    12-27-19 07:43 AM
  18. dalinxz's Avatar
    But how big were the giants back then? It really wasn't till consumers really started buying phones - 2010 - 2013, that Apple took off.

    BlackBerry was a pretty big company that was VERY profitable. If they hadn't left Verizon holding a empty bag in 2009 - no iPhone and nothing to compete against the iPhone. Where would Android have been, if the STORM had been a success?

    BlackBerry didn't loose because they were too small. They lost because they were focused on what they taught people should want, and not on what people actually wanted. Mike and Jim where stuck, and by the time they changed course.... they were years behind.

    Microsoft showed it wasn't about how big you were, but how good you were...
    and then Chen continued the legacy of old management - no transparency, no accountability, and billions flying out of the company without real explanation. Fire sales, stripping teams and departments when they had cash sitting in the bank that went untouched.

    Blackberry failed because it's a company bloated with excess management who continue to slow the company and make it further irrelevant than it has already become day by day.
    John Albert and tazcubed like this.
    12-27-19 08:32 AM
  19. conite's Avatar
    and then Chen continued the legacy of old management - no transparency, no accountability, and billions flying out of the company without real explanation. Fire sales, stripping teams and departments when they had cash sitting in the bank that went untouched.

    Blackberry failed because it's a company bloated with excess management who continue to slow the company and make it further irrelevant than it has already become day by day.
    Are we talking about the same BlackBerry?

    Back when Chen took over, all of its cash was already spoken for, and the company was on the literal brink of insolvency.

    They are now a relatively lean company, and just announced 26% year-over-year revenue growth in software and services.
    Laura Knotek, tnewton3 and 3800 like this.
    12-27-19 08:49 AM
  20. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    and then Chen continued the legacy of old management - no transparency, no accountability, and billions flying out of the company without real explanation. Fire sales, stripping teams and departments when they had cash sitting in the bank that went untouched.

    Blackberry failed because it's a company bloated with excess management who continue to slow the company and make it further irrelevant than it has already become day by day.
    Blackberry could never compete against Apple, Google and Microsoft because of the difference in economic resources. It was already irrelevant within the mobile space long before Chen and Fairfax came along.

    BlackBerry doesn't have excess management for a company of it's size. The company wasted and was still wasting assets on mobile at time Chen joined. The cash on hand is what allowed the company to get rid of unnecessary assets including people that had no role to play in the new company.

    Look at various competitors and you'll see that BlackBerry is rightsized for it's resources. It's funny because you constantly blame Chen for things put in motion long before he got there. I suspect you're a former BlackBerry employee that was part of the Chen layoffs.
    Laura Knotek likes this.
    12-27-19 08:56 AM
  21. bb10adopter111's Avatar
    and then Chen continued the legacy of old management - no transparency, no accountability, and billions flying out of the company without real explanation. Fire sales, stripping teams and departments when they had cash sitting in the bank that went untouched.

    Blackberry failed because it's a company bloated with excess management who continue to slow the company and make it further irrelevant than it has already become day by day.
    Just because John Chen focused on making the company competitive for the future by exiting hardware rather than continue flying the plane into the ground at full throttle?

    Hardware was completely done. The billions in cash were already committed to hardware purchases for phones they could never sell at a profit. That's why they continued to manufacture phones as long as they did.

    I am a huge fan of BB10 and wish it had found a market, but there was no chance of success with the company that John Chen inherited in 2013.

    From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.
    Laura Knotek and 3800 like this.
    12-27-19 10:08 AM
  22. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    I saw this article on the Verge, and it's interesting to see how TCL handles upgrading Android - ie. non-existent/doesn't happen.

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/4/20...reble-mainline

    It makes sense as many have wondered why the Key2 never saw an upgrade, although in the originating article from Counterpoint Research (embedded in the Verge article), I'd hardly call the Key2 a short-term phone much like the rest of TCL's portfolio.

    IF TCL still produces another Blackberry (and I'm highly skeptical there's another one coming) I wonder what tactics TCL will take. Given that the Key2 is now 1.5 years old since it's launch, I would prefer to know that the next phone would be upgraded or expect a discount on the value of the phone should they choose no upgrade option.
    I expected TCL to move to the Android One program... but they didn't with the PLEX.

    Issue is I expect they are afraid of being just a hardware manufacture, the feel that they have to be like some of the other bigger players and offer some stylistic alterations. They even talked about having a coherent design and user experience between phones and their popular TC's. And they have talked a lot about ecosystems (not sure what they mean).

    My view, TCL is running out of time... With Nokia now being offered by US Carriers, I'm not sure what TCL has to offer?
    Laura Knotek and John Albert like this.
    12-27-19 11:25 AM
  23. Radoslav Valkov's Avatar
    Unfortunately, BlackBerry has been reduced to the least innovative feature in its phones, the 20 year-old PKB. They never made an effective argument for their relevance as an Android device. None of their Android features or apps, including the Hub, were game-changers, and that's what they would have needed.

    Even in these forums there were endless complaints about the cameras, which was something where BlackBerry could never have completed with the R&D spent by companies like Samsung and Apple.

    From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.
    I have quite much experience with the Passport's camera and it is heavily underrated. The front camera though is not the best one...
    12-27-19 12:34 PM
  24. bb10adopter111's Avatar
    I have quite much experience with the Passport's camera and it is heavily underrated. The front camera though is not the best one...
    I agree. I was thinking more about the KEY phones, where the sensor is great, but the software isn't, especially in suboptimal conditions.

    But the main point is that, unlike Samsung, Sony, Apple, LG, etc., BlackBerry Limited was always a company for enterprise office drones to get work done securely and efficiently. If there wasn't demand for that use case, they weren't going to succeed as a consumer electronics company.

    From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.
    Laura Knotek likes this.
    12-27-19 12:39 PM
  25. Radoslav Valkov's Avatar
    I agree. I was thinking more about the KEY phones, where the sensor is great, but the software isn't, especially in suboptimal conditions.

    But the main point is that, unlike Samsung, Sony, Apple, LG, etc., BlackBerry Limited was always a company for enterprise office drones to get work done securely and efficiently. If there wasn't demand for that use case, they weren't going to succeed as a consumer electronics company.

    From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.
    I strongly agree. I had the Galaxy S1 a.k.a. GT-I9000. What a beautiful camera in 2011!
    anon(10599419) likes this.
    12-27-19 12:59 PM
47 12

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