[Bbnivende]

Do not confuse the form factor with BBOS. My 9900 ceased to be useful to me at the beginning of 2013. It could just not do what an iPhone or Samsung could do. If it would have had an Android OS I might have used it for perhaps two more years. The form factor was nice but the OS and internals were substandard.

[idssteve]

Yep, that was the final OS I had installed. As you've now admitted, the use you're defining isn't anywhere near the norm. If the 99xx was your only phone, your experience would be almost unavoidably different.

Well, to quote myself: latest 7.1 is "... Not perfect, and severely limited for some...".

Like anything, it's obviously "severely limited" for uses it was never designed for. I'm not really sure what kind of deception you think I've "admitted" to ?? The "single carry" criteria is something you seem to have added to the conversation but I certainly never meant to imply that the 9900 is suitable as a single carry only device, these days. I was making a point that it CAN be reliable with latest OS and if used within its design limits.

A few of us are trying to comprehend what you were doing with your 9930 that would make it take 15 minutes to boot. It still sounds like apps were your problem, IMO. Obviously, a moped's reliability will suffer if you attempt to load a bus load of people on it. Different tools for different uses. Different uses for different folks. BlackBerry is no longer an "every folks" device, if you haven't noticed.

[BigBadWulf]

Well, to quote myself: latest 7.1 is "... Not perfect, and severely limited for some...".

Like anything, it's obviously "severely limited" for uses it was never designed for. I'm not really sure what kind of deception you think I've "admitted" to ?? The "single carry" criteria is something you seem to have added to the conversation but I certainly never meant to imply that the 9900 is suitable as a single carry only device, these days. I was making a point that it CAN be reliable with latest OS and if used within its design limits.

A few of us are trying to comprehend what you were doing with your 9930 that would make it take 15 minutes to boot. It still sounds like apps were your problem, IMO. Obviously, a moped's reliability will suffer if you attempt to load a bus load of people on it. Different tools for different uses. Different uses for different folks. BlackBerry is no longer an "every folks" device, if you haven't noticed.

I don't know what hourglassing or 10 minute reboots you are talking about. I've been using a 9900 for years and never once experienced that.

My apologies! I thought you and the maker of the post above were one in the same.

As for the 15min, as I said, that was from battery pull to fully functional. Certainly I could receive a call once booted. Responding to an email or BBM, or G_d forbid attempting to use the browser took a while.

[nt300]

NO BBOS 7 is Dead.
BB10 Rules them All.

Rocking a Z30

[idssteve]

We've grown accustomed to equating BBOS with "legacy" but now BB10 seems to be part of legacy also. BBOS era legacy handsets provided ergonomics superior to the best of BB10 era legacy, IMO.

I, personally, believe some consumer fatigue with current market saturation of uncomfortably oversized handsets might provide niche opportunities for SOME one.

I used to assume BB's market research resources dwarfed my pitiful sampling capabilities. I no longer trust that assumption. In that light, some sort of re-visit of legacy attributes might make sense. Making sense has not been RIM/BBRY's strongest attribute, tho. Lol.

[idssteve]

My apologies! I thought you and the maker of the post above were one in the same.

As for the 15min, as I said, that was from battery pull to fully functional. Certainly I could receive a call once booted. Responding to an email or BBM, or G_d forbid attempting to use the browser took a while.

Well, I won't disagree or refute the other poster's claim. It's perfectly believable to me. Totally depending on apps he's running. My crew returned to 9900s from Q10s (long story) for about a year before Classic. We already knew better than to load it down with apps. I can't say how many of my crew dual carried during that period but I, and at least a few coworkers, solo carried 99s for that year (2014). Some of us just have no need for some popular apps. If I saw a spinning hourglass during that year, I certainly don't recall it.

The other possible caveat is that my crew disdains wall hugging and prefers to power our 99s with battery swaps. (Another long story). Those routine batt swaps likely also provides memory garbage cleaning functions. Which likely preempts spinning hourglass. ???

Our experience is that 3G & data services (including browsing) are typically available right after boot. Virtually simultaneous with voice. I depend on incoming email dings as audible alert that return calls are ready. Generally less than 3 minutes. Idk what to suggest. Too late now anyway but were you on Sprint or VZW? Our Verizon 9930s and Classic's experience delays in weak signal conditions??

The biggest delay is with BeWeather acquiring GPS. That might never happen inside steel industrial buildings. Classic's GPS seems faster and more robust than 99.

[DamianWarS]

There is still a pretty desirable market for them in developing nations. If they keep the price under $100 I can see them working. Kinda like the VW bug that is still manufactured in places like Mexico.

Posted via CB10

[california governor]

Nope!

 CA Governor on Passport SE 

[california governor]

Moore's law won't allow it's production. Google it...Moore's Law.

 CA Governor on Passport SE 

[thurask]

There is still a pretty desirable market for them in developing nations. If they keep the price under $100 I can see them working. Kinda like the VW bug that is still manufactured in places like Mexico.

Posted via CB10

Even then, they won't be terribly competitive with slave labor Android phones.

[bobshine]

Well guys... I'll make it simple for you. I work with one of the major banks here in Canada and there is zero applications available for BBOS nor BlackBerry 10.

so why, and why should BlackBerry go back to BBOS ?

Posted via CB10

[Bbnivende]

I think there is room in the line up for a 9900 format device, same width but taller screen. Keep the toolbelt and 9900 PKB. Run it with Android.

My 9900 ceased to be useful about Feb 2013. It sits in my discarded tech drawer along with my Playbook. My Z10 is still useful as a mini tablet.

Posted via CB10

[DrBoomBotz]

The last similar thing that I can recall was at the turn of the century.

Their was a hyped up issue with the Camino chipset's memory controller hub and Intel blew it out of the water.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slot_1...E_.28Camino.29

They pulled the legendary 440BX out of retirement to fill the gap
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_440BX

until the 815 was ready, going from memory, sorry no link.
The 440BX was last years processor not 4 years old and it didn't sell very well compared to any reasonable projection for the Camino.

Buy hey, vinyl records came back.

[belfastdispatcher]

Believe it or not some carriers do still sell them contrary to the "carriers hated bbos" statements all those years ago.

So somebody must be buying them.

[belfastdispatcher]

What I don't understand is this:

BB10 obviously failed, so they move to android and they came up with basically a BB10 clone.

They could have really recreated the BBOS experience, complete with keyboard and BIS, on powerful android

Beats me why they would go with the same complete failure of BB10 experience.

[Bbnivende]

BlackBerry has neither the money nor the interest in duplicating the BBOS experience. BlackBerry fans can only look forward to having a PKB. The shift to Android is to avoid the operating costs associated with having a unique OS. The best you can hope for is that some programmer comes up with a BBOS themed launcher and sells it via the Google Play store.

The next step in phone evolution are even faster data feeds. BIS is probably not suited for these fast data devices.

Posted via CB10

[JeepBB]

What I don't understand is this:

BB10 obviously failed, so they move to android and they came up with basically a BB10 clone.

They could have really recreated the BBOS experience, complete with keyboard and BIS, on powerful android

Beats me why they would go with the same complete failure of BB10 experience.

It's because they want to pull ex-BB10 users onto Android... so they made an Android Handset with all the familiar stuff :- Hub, Keyboard, etc so that those guys stay with BB. There are enough BB10 users for that to be worth trying, and it's a strategy that seems to be working given the number of posts that I've seen from ex-BB10 guys praising the Priv. Plus there are undoubtedly a few "hipsters" willing to try the Priv just because it's an unusual Android handset.

Why they haven't instead created a BBOS experience on the Priv is I think because few of the BBOS die-hards would consider it. They didn't move to BB10, I doubt they would move to a faux-BBOS experience on Android... they'll just stay with the real BBOS phones they love. And a BBOS-Priv wouldn't appeal to the hipsters either.

Hence the BB10-focused Android Priv.

Welcome Back BTW. You might be just in time to see the final death-throws of BB10...

[belfastdispatcher]

It's because they want to pull ex-BB10 users onto Android... so they made an Android Handset with all the familiar stuff :- Hub, Keyboard, etc so that those guys stay with BB. There are enough BB10 users for that to be worth trying, and it's a strategy that seems to be working given the number of posts that I've seen from ex-BB10 guys praising the Priv. Plus there are undoubtedly a few "hipsters" willing to try the Priv just because it's an unusual Android handset.

Why they haven't instead created a BBOS experience on the Priv is I think because few of the BBOS die-hards would consider it. They didn't move to BB10, I doubt they would move to a faux-BBOS experience on Android... they'll just stay with the real BBOS phones they love. And a BBOS-Priv wouldn't appeal to the hipsters either.

Hence the BB10-focused Android Priv.

Welcome Back BTW. You might be just in time to see the final death-throws of BB10...

If there was enough BB10 users they wouldn't be moving to Android.

[JeepBB]

If there was enough BB10 users they wouldn't be moving to Android.

There aren't enough to make BB10 commercially viable, but there are still enough of them to make it worthwhile trying to get them onto BB's own Android handset rather than lose them altogether. Which is why the Priv is a BB10 "home from home" rather than in-yer-face Android.

Chen needs the revenue.

[Bbnivende]

There are still many BBOS devices being used. Cheap data, mainly for texting and emails and unwillingness to buy a new phone. These users will likely search out the cheapest prepaid phone they can find when theirs breaks or their carrier gives up on BIS.

Posted via CB10

[belfastdispatcher]

There aren't enough to make BB10 commercially viable, but there are still enough of them to make it worthwhile trying to get them onto BB's own Android handset rather than lose them altogether. Which is why the Priv is a BB10 "home from home" rather than in-yer-face Android.

Chen needs the revenue.

They thought the same in the move from BBOS to BB10, we all know what happened there. Forcing existing users to change alienates them.

[JeepBB]

They thought the same in the move from BBOS to BB10, we all know what happened there. Forcing existing users to change alienates them.

I think this time it might be different... BB seem to have (gasp!) learned from the mistakes they made in the BBOS -> BB10 transition. You're right, that was very much "Listen Up! BB10 is the future, get with the programme!"... and it didn't work.

The Priv is a much more persuasive proposition to BB10-users hacked-off that they can't use the Apps that all their friends are using, but liking the BB10 experience. The Priv has some familiar and comforting BB10 touches, and it has every App in the known universe due to the Google Play Store.

If I was a Z10 owner, reading BB's statements regarding the (lack of) future for BB10... I'd be tempted by the Priv... and I think many thousands of BB10 users will be tempted too.

Unfortunately for BB, Chen needs millions (5!) of people to buy the Priv, and I expect the 1st April ER sales figures to show that nothing like that many people are buying the Priv. And, once again, BB's platform transition will have failed. BB won't try again IMO... they'll just close hardware down. Any dream that they'll pin all their hopes on a refreshed range of BBOS devices is just that... a dream!

[Troy Tiscareno]

There are still many BBOS devices being used. Cheap data, mainly for texting and emails and unwillingness to buy a new phone. These users will likely search out the cheapest prepaid phone they can find when theirs breaks or their carrier gives up on BIS.

Yes, but the number of active BBOS phones has been plummeting - the most recent number was around 12M, down from 30M just a year ago. At that rate, it will be well under 1M by the start of 2017.

[idssteve]

Yes, but the number of active BBOS phones has been plummeting - the most recent number was around 12M, down from 30M just a year ago. At that rate, it will be well under 1M by the start of 2017.

Sure looks like 11M worth of sales going SOMEwhere...?

[belfastdispatcher]

Yes, but the number of active BBOS phones has been plummeting - the most recent number was around 12M, down from 30M just a year ago. At that rate, it will be well under 1M by the start of 2017.

As opposed to how many BB10 users?