The BlackBerry Thread

[Anduril]

No doubt they will have a small group that's been waiting eagerly for BB10. Not just people who have held on to Storms and Torches, but people ready to drop their S3s and iPhone 5's for the new z10. Personally, I really quite like it. The idea of the BB Hub is amazing. Wanted to send a message about the launch while watching it on my Note, and while I could, no where as polished as the BB Hub. That was only made possibly via rooting etc. etc.

Never been a huge BB fan ever, but I'm thinking that they have a decent shot with this. Now if only they would drop the pricing by another $50...

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

And enterprise no longer has any faith in their long term viability, which means most organizations have either moved on, or have plans to move to a different platform.

That's not my experience in the industry at present time. Plenty of clients, including the one I'm sitting at right now, have lots and lots of interest.

[Rathji]

I wonder, how much of that is due to not being willing to revamp infrastructure to handle other phones? Or do they really think that BB provides a better product?

I am not judging either way though, it isn't any different than an iPhone user being unwilling to switch to Android because they lose functionality or purchases within their ecosystem.

It really boils down to a company gives you phones so you can get work done. Not play Angry Birds, Listen to music over your Airplay Express etc. The real push back against BB is coming from the consumer space, not business, although it is obvious that consumer perception really impacts the business choices.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

That's not my experience in the industry at present time. Plenty of clients, including the one I'm sitting at right now, have lots and lots of interest.

I work for a giant American pseudo government organization that is pretty crazy about security. We fast tracked our migration from BB to Apple last year based on the industry's belief that BB is not sustainable. My ex-wife has bounced around many pharmaceutical companies, and they have all moved from BB to BYOD, no way they will go back to BB. Sure, it's just anecdotal, but pretty seems pretty strong from my POV. Personally, I don't really care one way or another, I prefer my company BB for work stuff vs the new Apple solution, but I wouldn't invest a dollar in them.

[Cheese]

I think the new BB10 looks great and certainly will help BB keep its market share and even get some of their users back again.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

I work for a giant American pseudo government organization that is pretty crazy about security. We fast tracked our migration from BB to Apple last year based on the industry's belief that BB is not sustainable. My ex-wife has bounced around many pharmaceutical companies, and they have all moved from BB to BYOD, no way they will go back to BB. Sure, it's just anecdotal, but pretty seems pretty strong from my POV. Personally, I don't really care one way or another, I prefer my company BB for work stuff vs the new Apple solution, but I wouldn't invest a dollar in them.

Yeah, I don't think it will be clear what adoption looks like for some time - anecdotal evidence reigns supreme right now on all sides.

[RedMileDJ]

[Cheese]

Highlights of todays show...
http://www.mobot.net/blackberry-10-l...ghlights-52882

On BlackBerry 10’s virtual keyboard you can swipe to auto-complete (instead of choosing from a list above the keyboard), while swiping downward brings up punctuation. Similarly, you can swipe left to delete an entire word. Nice.
We also heard before about switching between personal and work accounts in BlackBerry 10. It’s called BlackBerry Balance, and jumping between the two is as simple as swiping down.
Brilliantly, IT admin type folk can push stuff to your BlackBerry 10 device (including apps and updates), or even delete data, without affecting any of your personal stuff.
BlackBerry Messenger is obviously a big part of BlackBerry’s arsenal, and it’ll get full-screen video calling in BlackBerry 10.
Speaking of video calling, there’s pretty big news in the form of BlackBerry 10 getting a Skype app, something that might’ve been a deal-breaker for some.

5 Highs and 5 Lows

http://www.thestar.com/business/2013...lowlights.html


Segregating work and play: RIM knows many of its customers are using the BlackBerry for both professional and personal reasons, and the new platform lets you segregate these two worlds — your 9 to 5 and 5 to 9, if you will — with separate screens, apps, media and services. RIM calls this BlackBerry Balance. Android offers something similar, but not as neatly or efficiently. On a related note, using your BlackBerry for work or play means you need an excellent battery, and the Z10 won’t disappoint in this department —delivering almost twice the battery life of an iPhone 5, in my testing.

The new Z10

http://www.youtube.com/user/BlackBerry/videos?view=0

[RedMileDJ]

Won't be coming back. I have too much integrated with my Google (Android) now. Calendar, docs, books, magazine, apps, etc.

Plus, I'm getting my Nexus soon.

But I do look forward to seeing how BlackBerry (RIM) does. I wish I had bought some stock when it was $8.00. I think it's around $14 now. As a supporter of Canadian ideas, innovation and resources, I REALLY hope it takes off and adds another competitor to the market. It can only be good for the consumer.

[Cheese]

^^^they changed the name of the company today...RIM is out...Blackberry is in. Makes sense.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by Cheese

^^^they changed the name of the company today...RIM is out...Blackberry is in. Makes sense.

Yah, that's why I put RIM in brackets.

I've never understood why they didn't make this change years ago. I mean, what else is RIM known for making? In my opinion, they should have changed to the BlackBerry name about 5 years ago, when things were really heating up with Apple and Google.

[MrMastodonFarm]

With that baby blue poster and the yellow font mixed in that poster looks like it's for Best Buy, not BlackBerry.

Hope the device does well and we hear great things from it after launch. Ordered my second nexus device yesterday so sticking with Android for at least the next year.

[Igster]

Just not enough to make me consider going back to Blackberry. I'm pretty much an Android guy now and will stay that way I think.

[onetwo_threefour]

I still love my Torch, (9810,the good one,not the crap 9800), and my PlayBook, (which I'm posting with) but even I think that there has been too much of a cultural change in what the average user thinks they should be able to do with their work phone, that blackberry isn't going to be well-suited to address. To me BB is still the best hardware and software for 99% of what I do and want to do with my work phone, but I'm no longer the average user.

I really think BB has a pretty great device set and infrastructure, but they're probably too far behind the public opinion curve to recover. I will likely not give up my BB devices until they die and BB isn't making any more, but I wouldn't invest in their stock, because I think that's going to happen sooner than later.

[Anduril]

Also probably doesn't help to have such sporadic launch dates for US especially and the Q10 way later in march.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

I really think BB has a pretty great device set and infrastructure, but they're probably too far behind the public opinion curve to recover. I will likely not give up my BB devices until they die and BB isn't making any more, but I wouldn't invest in their stock, because I think that's going to happen sooner than later.

Blackberry still makes some of the nicest looking devices on the market.

The blackberry bold 9900 is just so damn nice looking.

[GreatWhiteEbola]

They just introduced my next phone. I have had an iPhone 4S, Galaxy Infuse 4G, Galaxy SII LTE, since my BB Bold. Other then the screen size, I was never as content, as I was with my BB.

[Hatter]

Originally Posted by GreatWhiteEbola

They just introduced my next phone. I have had an iPhone 4S, Galaxy Infuse 4G, Galaxy SII LTE, since my BB Bold. Other then the screen size, I was never as content, as I was with my BB.

Amen brother. I've owned a lot of technically "better" phones, but I never personally liked any of them as much as my first BB Bold. I think I'll pick up the new BB 10 version with the keyboard when it is released.

[pylon]

This is great timing with all the Apple hatred right now (rightfully so) and a lot of ex-BB users that jumped ship a few years ago, looking to bail on Apple. I thought a year ago, BB would be all but dead by now. It looks like they have an excellent shot at making a big comeback after all.

[Cheese]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...10-review.html

Speed and interface: BlackBerry touts its web browser as faster than competitors, and it sure looks like it. The loading speed extends beyond just websites though — many apps and even email messages also open faster than on other phones.
The speed blends well with BlackBerry's "Flow" interface, which eschews buttons for swiping. There's no home button on the Z10, with left-to-right and up-and-down swipes controlling all of the navigation.
It takes some getting used to because it's different from other smartphones, but once you get into the swing of it, the horsepower and interface combine to create a smooth experience that's kind of fun.

Hub: Other phone makers have taken stabs at a unified inbox, but the Z10 gets it right. All of your accounts, from email and Facebook to Twitter and LinkedIn, not to mention text messages, notifications and BBM pings, are found in one location, which can be accessed by swiping in from the left of the phone.
The Hub also lets you filter down to each individual account by tapping on its heading, which is good for when all that incoming gets overwhelming.

Ports and things: In terms of plugging things in and taking things out, the Z10 is everything the iPhone is not. There's a removable battery, in case it goes belly up, as well as an SD card slot to add to the 16 gigabytes of included storage.
It also has a micro HDMI slot for connecting to a TV or monitor, so no extra adapters are required to pipe video from the phone.