[idssteve]

I’ll be honest, I’ve never thought about that.

If you are shaky or even partially sighted. A physical keyboard would probably work well

It did.

[Ashley Taylor]

It did.

I take back what I said then about PKB

Who was that guy who infringed on BlackBerry patents with iphone PKB? If Blackberry aren’t going to make phones, perhaps they could release the patent

[idssteve]

I take back what I said then about PKB

Who was that guy who infringed on BlackBerry patents with iphone PKB? If Blackberry aren’t going to make phones, perhaps they could release the patent

Well, PKB is only half the solution. Almost anything "modern" will inevitably include a touch surface of some kind. He's a disaster enough with a "tiny" 2.8" touch 9900. Lol. Others in his community suffer similarly. Some swear by Apple but the 6Pluss my brother set him up with is utter disaster. Unless there are settings and/or apps I'm not aware of? I know next to zero about iOS.

[Ashley Taylor]

So let’s reset.

What are his requirements?

[idssteve]

So let’s reset.

What are his requirements?

The two most troublesome of inadvertent inputs is "airplane mode" and/or "silence mode". Rendering the thing useless to maintain even voice contact. If there were some way to password protect, or otherwise lock, those two settings, that would mitigate at least half of MY worries about him living on his own. Mom passed a few yrs ago. He's enjoyed reliable contact with family & friends thru his beloved 9650. With it, he's very accomplished at text sms & email. Photos & mp3. Selecting & calling contacts. Of course he leans on SpeedDials for more frequent friends & family calls. He loves youtube (yes, Opera does youtube even on 9650) and really spends a lot of time just looking up things he's always wondered about on Wikipedia and sharing the info & links with us. Lol. Keeps his mind active.

Sometimes now, hard to check on him without having a neighbor knock... Not a preferred Covid safe option.

[Tsepz_GP]

I won’t deny they all look pretty good in decent lighting. I just found the pixel and the S9 with auto flash etc, looked over blown whereas the X looked more natural

Has this suddenly become photography club? Who cares if you can text or make phone calls?

In my opinion, comparing my iPhone XS Max and 11 Pro Max pictures and videos to my Huawei P30 Pro, Mate 20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Note8 pictures something I generally notice is that iPhones have a tendency to be more consistent in most situations. The iPhones do what they can the best, versus the higher versatility the Androids have. For example the P30 Pro obliterates everything in Zoom and Night Mode because of its telescope and much larger sensor.

When it comes to night shots the P30 Pro completely obliterated my XS Max, but the 11 Pro Max tends to be more balanced thanks to its Night Mode feature, however the P30 Pro is still able to make more light out of most dark situations.

With the above said I simply cannot complain about photography on any of my phones except maybe the lack of versatility in the XS Max but I have replaced it with the 11 Pro Max which added a Wide Angle Lens and Night Mode so I am very happy.

In terms of Video, Apple for me are quite ahead but Samsung are closer to their heels than anyone else. I have my 11 Pro Max set to shoot 4K@60FPS as default, it does it with no problem and I can edit and process the clips in iMovie and Adobe Rush right on the 11 Pro Max in mere minutes without a single slowdown thanks to the A13 chip.

I feel as though Apple could do A LOT more though, given how powerful these A series chips are, the fact that MacOS Big Sur is currently running without a single hitch on an Apple A12Z chip platform for testing, which is the same as what the iPad Pro 2020s use, tells me that Apple are holding A LOT back.

I hope we see more in the way of video,because it is quite clear the A12 and A13 Bionic chips have a lot more power to give than what we are seeing. Many YouTubers like TravisMCP, Austin Evans and Michael Fisher actually use iPad Pro 2018s with the A12X to edit some of their videos without a single problem before uploading to YouTube, that is literally where we are now with these chips.

Things are going to get even more exciting with the 5nm A14 chips, with better thermal management and much more power with less power draw, I can see why Apple is making the switch from Intel to ARM, by the time the switch is completely done we will have 3nm ARM chips that will be a hell of a lot more powerful than what we have now, I expect 8K@60FPS video to be a great possibility within the next few years in mobile devices.

We do not get Pixel phones down here in South Africa, I have only seen Pixels in the hands of our local Google SA office employees when I have been there for training.

[conite]

I take back what I said then about PKB

Who was that guy who infringed on BlackBerry patents with iphone PKB? If Blackberry aren’t going to make phones, perhaps they could release the patent

Anyone who wishes to make use of the IP is more than welcome to pay to licence it.

[idssteve]

Anyone who wishes to make use of the IP is more than welcome to pay to licence it.

Any feel for price of that? Just roughly?

[Ashley Taylor]

Anyone who wishes to make use of the IP is more than welcome to pay to licence it.

But why don’t they? Serious question

[conite]

But why don’t they? Serious question

Lack of market.

[conite]

Any feel for price of that? Just roughly?

Interesting question.

One-time fee plus $20 per device? Just talking out of my rear end.

[idssteve]

Interesting question.

One-time fee plus $20 per device? Just talking out of my rear end.

Lol. What might the service fee roughly amount to? $100K? $10M? $100M?? Just seeking sanity check order of magnitude. "Rear end" precision. Lol. I'm guessing the value got at least mentioned at some point of the Typo legal proceedings? Just don't recall hearing even what the award/settlement was on that... If ever public... ??

[conite]

Lol. What might the service fee roughly amount to? $100K? $10M? $100M?? Just seeking sanity check order of magnitude. "Rear end" precision. Lol. I'm guessing the value got at least mentioned at some point of the Typo legal proceedings? Just don't recall hearing even what the award/settlement was on that... If ever public... ??

I think BlackBerry just sought an injunction against further sales. That was back in 2014 when BlackBerry had other plans for their keyboard.

It's a sunk cost, so any revenue is good. They already have a licensing team that deals with the admin for their patent portfolio, so it doesn't cost them anything.

[idssteve]

I think BlackBerry just sought an injunction against further sales. That was back in 2014 when BlackBerry had other plans for their keyboard.

It's a sunk cost, so any revenue is good. They already have a licensing team that deals with the admin for their patent portfolio, so it doesn't cost them anything.

Hmm... Probably can't hurt to reach out & ask them. Hmm... "Retirement" is already driving me crazy... Lol.

[conite]

Hmm... Probably can't hurt to reach out & ask them. Hmm... "Retirement" is already driving me crazy... Lol.

To boot, as of Aug 31st, they will be fully free from any licensing entanglements with TCL.

[Troy Tiscareno]

RIM in those days existed in a fantasy world where they imagined corporations had endless resources to spend on such things.

And also in a fantasy world where they "owned" the corporate/enterprise market. They only "owned" it because they had, for a time, the best solution available. When that stopped being the case - which for most companies was around the time of the iPad launch, when MDM software companies that supported iOS were hitting their second or third major releases - those formerly "owned by BB" companies dropped BB and switched. It was clear to everyone that BB was no where near a competitive solution, and the incredible shortsightedness of the Playbook's lack of native email was a clear example of that.

Powerful, near-desktop-functional apps were a new thing on mobile at the time, and Apple (and at the time, to a lesser extent, Google) was delivering. BB was not, and once the corporate travelers realized all the things that apps could do for them so they didn't have to spend 30 minutes making a call to book a hotel or car or change a reservation or find their way around a city, etc., and didn't have to wait to go back to their hotel room to enter an order, BB's strengths seemed pale in comparison (except for a few very specialized folks like @idssteve ).

[Chuck Finley69]

And also in a fantasy world where they "owned" the corporate/enterprise market. They only "owned" it because they had, for a time, the best solution available. When that stopped being the case - which for most companies was around the time of the iPad launch, when MDM software companies that supported iOS were hitting their second or third major releases - those formerly "owned by BB" companies dropped BB and switched. It was clear to everyone that BB was no where near a competitive solution, and the incredible shortsightedness of the Playbook's lack of native email was a clear example of that.

Powerful, near-desktop-functional apps were a new thing on mobile at the time, and Apple (and at the time, to a lesser extent, Google) was delivering. BB was not, and once the corporate travelers realized all the things that apps could do for them so they didn't have to spend 30 minutes making a call to book a hotel or car or change a reservation or find their way around a city, etc., and didn't have to wait to go back to their hotel room to enter an order, BB's strengths seemed pale in comparison (except for a few very specialized folks like @IDSteve ).

Who needs apps when @idssteve has live people to handle it at his whim and command

Is commoners get Hey Alexa. @idssteve has Moneypenny

Pshh

[Troy Tiscareno]

Interesting. Neither the Pixel or Apple devices are chosen by huge pools of voters in '18 or '19. I love the tech pundits dismay in the '18 competition.

Average users don't have the experience or training to know how to really camera quality. When comparing pictures side-by-side, they're going to choose the image that is brighter and has more contrast - even when those things aren't actually what you want.

It's the same reason that TVs - even the best TVs from the best manufacturers - in a showroom are always set on "Vivid", with hyper contrast, blown-out colors, and so forth - because if they are set properly, and the Vizio or TCL TV next to them is set to Vivid, people will think the "Vivid"-set TV "has a better picture" and that the other TVs are "washed out." The fact that Vivid looks garish and hurts your eyes doesn't occur to them.

If you showed those same photos to experienced photographers in the same way (without knowing where they came from), you'd get very different results - ones that would likely match up with professional reviews relatively well.

[idssteve]

Who needs apps when @idssteve has live people to handle it at his whim and command

Is commoners get Hey Alexa. @idssteve has Moneypenny

Pshh

Idk about "whim and command". Especially since "retirement", if ever. I have been blessed to work with some VERY sharp, self motivated, folks. Folks who are always tinkering with EVERYthing. Truly enthusiastic hobbyists of EVERY thing. A characteristic sought when originally assembling my team. They've typically developed solutions well before I ever knew about it. Rare that it wouldn't be in process before I even thought to mention a need. Lol. Couldn't ask for a better bunch. Honored to call them all friends.

Dunno bout Ms Moneypenny... I answer my own calls. REAL time quick response is what our clients like & pay a premium for. Ms Agent99 assists that most nicely. Lol.

[Tsepz_GP]

Average users don't have the experience or training to know how to really camera quality. When comparing pictures side-by-side, they're going to choose the image that is brighter and has more contrast - even when those things aren't actually what you want.

It's the same reason that TVs - even the best TVs from the best manufacturers - in a showroom are always set on "Vivid", with hyper contrast, blown-out colors, and so forth - because if they are set properly, and the Vizio or TCL TV next to them is set to Vivid, people will think the "Vivid"-set TV "has a better picture" and that the other TVs are "washed out." The fact that Vivid looks garish and hurts your eyes doesn't occur to them.

If you showed those same photos to experienced photographers in the same way (without knowing where they came from), you'd get very different results - ones that would likely match up with professional reviews relatively well.

It’s quite sad, I still hear people judging phone Cameras simply by Megapixel count and nothing else
When I hear it I simply disengage.

[idssteve]

And also in a fantasy world where they "owned" the corporate/enterprise market. They only "owned" it because they had, for a time, the best solution available. When that stopped being the case - which for most companies was around the time of the iPad launch, when MDM software companies that supported iOS were hitting their second or third major releases - those formerly "owned by BB" companies dropped BB and switched. It was clear to everyone that BB was no where near a competitive solution, and the incredible shortsightedness of the Playbook's lack of native email was a clear example of that.

Powerful, near-desktop-functional apps were a new thing on mobile at the time, and Apple (and at the time, to a lesser extent, Google) was delivering. BB was not, and once the corporate travelers realized all the things that apps could do for them so they didn't have to spend 30 minutes making a call to book a hotel or car or change a reservation or find their way around a city, etc., and didn't have to wait to go back to their hotel room to enter an order, BB's strengths seemed pale in comparison (except for a few very specialized folks like @idssteve ).

Corporate travel has always been part of my job description. Up to about early 2015, I've used 99's browser to make 100's of lodging reservations with Holiday Inn Express, Choice Hotels, Wyndam, etc, ... 3 minute quick. Do really like the "modern" Android Apps, like Hilton's etc, that open doors without a key, etc but sure don't know why a phone must be K series huge for that app to work. Lol.

Also ordered tons of stuff from McMaster-Carr, Grainger, AutomationDirect, BB electronics, Newark, Digikey, etc, etc... Over 99. Only stopped using when I became concerned over lack of updates. Still functioning fine when I stopped on that fear. Still don't see why handsets need to be K series huge to be secure. Lol.

Likewise, BB Maps has guided me over many 100k of miles. Still provides "sanity check" for my GMaps stuff... GMaps seems TOO eager to route over the tiniest rabbit trails. Lol. The two GPS handsets mounted in truck affords a second opinion, at least.

I do agree that Android ultimately left BB in the dust, and BB10 app ecosystem never achieved critical mass. BBOS apps never achieved the polish of apple & droid, but BBOS apps were far from useless. At least till BBOS eol. Few seem fully aware of what 9900, with its 1.2GHz processor, was truly capable of. Imo. Fwiw.

BB10 failed. BBOS was euthanized prematurely and never permitted to fail of "natural" causes. Imo. Fear of trends? Extrapolating trends is tricky at best. Imo. Or, as Chuck suspects, maximizing M&L's chashout seems sadly too likely. Fwiw.

[Chuck Finley69]

Corporate travel has always been part of my job description. Up to about early 2015, I've used 99's browser to make 100's of lodging reservations with Holiday Inn Express, Choice Hotels, Wyndam, etc, ... 3 minute quick. Do really like the "modern" Android Apps, like Hilton's etc, that open doors without a key, etc but sure don't know why a phone must be K series huge for that app to work. Lol.

Also ordered tons of stuff from McMaster-Carr, Grainger, AutomationDirect, BB electronics, Newark, Digikey, etc, etc... Over 99. Only stopped using when I became concerned over lack of updates. Still functioning fine when I stopped on that fear. Still don't see why handsets need to be K series huge to be secure. Lol.

Likewise, BB Maps has guided me over many 100k of miles. Still provides "sanity check" for my GMaps stuff... GMaps seems TOO eager to route over the tiniest rabbit trails. Lol. The two GPS handsets mounted in truck affords a second opinion, at least.

I do agree that Android ultimately left BB in the dust, and BB10 app ecosystem never achieved critical mass. BBOS apps never achieved the polish of apple & droid, but BBOS apps were far from useless. At least till BBOS eol. Few seem fully aware of what 9900, with its 1.2GHz processor, was truly capable of. Imo. Fwiw.

BB10 failed. BBOS was euthanized prematurely and never permitted to fail of "natural" causes. Imo. Fear of trends? Extrapolating trends is tricky at best. Imo. Or, as Chuck suspects, maximizing M&L's chashout seems sadly too likely. Fwiw.

The phones don’t HAVE to be so large but like PKB, unfortunately the size of the “must have” market isn’t viable so the Value Upsize crowd wins. Does a small McDonalds cup exist anymore?

I got irritated with the wife yesterday because she paid $2.50 for 12 eight ounce bottles of water for a high school age kickoff get together. The same generic Acme Wally brand sells 16 or 20 oz bottles 35 or 36 pack for $3.50 or so. The point was simply paying 4X amount for same quantity of water.

If Android VKBs are X with smaller whatever OS PKB is 4X but the optimal quantity is too high, therein lies the problem. You’re an engineer so you get and understand the P/L archs we business simpletons follow on price elasticity.

M&Js cash out maximizing though didn’t really change the opposite side of the balance sheet for BlackBerry whether riding BBOS into ground solely, the actual model with BB10 that happened or switching to BBAndroid in 2009-2010 earlier while running BBOS simultaneously.

If anything, the business model followed probably gave you the longest BBOS existence of all the probability models. It created the best scenario of defense against the regulators who thought perhaps they could pierce the corporate veil or negate plausible deniability argument.

Once everybody cashed out, the winners and losers net out similar just with different names and/or bets. The various but fixed permutations still exist.

[bh7171]

Average users don't have the experience or training to know how to really camera quality. When comparing pictures side-by-side, they're going to choose the image that is brighter and has more contrast - even when those things aren't actually what you want.

It's the same reason that TVs - even the best TVs from the best manufacturers - in a showroom are always set on "Vivid", with hyper contrast, blown-out colors, and so forth - because if they are set properly, and the Vizio or TCL TV next to them is set to Vivid, people will think the "Vivid"-set TV "has a better picture" and that the other TVs are "washed out." The fact that Vivid looks garish and hurts your eyes doesn't occur to them.

If you showed those same photos to experienced photographers in the same way (without knowing where they came from), you'd get very different results - ones that would likely match up with professional reviews relatively well.

The point of the 6 million viewers choices, including the so called tech pundits included is that they could not and did not by the eye in Instagram (a photo app) and Twitter pick the presumed "best" cameras. Two apps where MOST mobile users view mobile photos from users. It's actually quite hilarious. Like the taste tests I do with my kids with various branded foods. Coffee taste tests, wine, etc prove how conditioned people are to branding vs what's pleasing to the eye or taste.

[Ashley Taylor]

Interesting question.

One-time fee plus $20 per device? Just talking out of my rear end.

It is an interesting question.

If BlackBerry don’t want to make the phone, why not just give away the patent?

It’s like being the patent troll who sued them

[Ashley Taylor]

And also in a fantasy world where they "owned" the corporate/enterprise market. They only "owned" it because they had, for a time, the best solution available. When that stopped being the case - which for most companies was around the time of the iPad launch, when MDM software companies that supported iOS were hitting their second or third major releases - those formerly "owned by BB" companies dropped BB and switched. It was clear to everyone that BB was no where near a competitive solution, and the incredible shortsightedness of the Playbook's lack of native email was a clear example of that.

Powerful, near-desktop-functional apps were a new thing on mobile at the time, and Apple (and at the time, to a lesser extent, Google) was delivering. BB was not, and once the corporate travelers realized all the things that apps could do for them so they didn't have to spend 30 minutes making a call to book a hotel or car or change a reservation or find their way around a city, etc., and didn't have to wait to go back to their hotel room to enter an order, BB's strengths seemed pale in comparison (except for a few very specialized folks like @idssteve ).

And the top UEM vendor now is VMWare
BlackBerry failed because they bought a ****ty product called Secure Workspace and then bought the leading competitor (Good) and still screwed that up