We've seen a few hands-on pictures of the upcoming BlackBerry 9720, but just in case those weren't quite clear enough, here are some press pictures that have recently bubbled up. There's an obvious Q5 influence here, and OS 7.1 is looking like it will be borrowing a few things from BB10, There's no carrier branding here, so no hints as to which markets we'll be seeing it in.
We talked a little bit about the 9720 on yesterday's podcast, and though there's not a lot going for it in the looks department, I think it will be a fine choice for those that think the Q5 is still too expensive.
Anyone taking bets on when and where this is going to be launched? How low will it need to be priced in order to succeed?
Reader comments
BlackBerry 9720 press shots surface
The BB OS 7.0 will be around for a long time and so will be the legacy phone. T-Mobile USA offers a BB 9315 for about $170, and you can unlock it. it has G3 and a WiFi Hotspot.
I personally wait for a BB 7.0 phone with G4, HPSA and LTE
I like to use the BIS and / or the BES service of the old legacy BB phones, it cost me $20 per month when I travel internationally, where I can get all my emails and attachment. Plus I have UMA, that means I can call back to the US using a WIFI connection for free, or using my contracted minutes
all the new BB 10, I-phone and other smartphones email comes through data service, which is fine when you are in the US, but if you have to data roaming you may come back with a $500 bills when you are back
there is no other alternative to OS7
maybe now you understand why the US mobile carriers did not wanted to sell BB legacy phones, they did not make any money on the dataservice
BB legacy phones are the best when traveling international, for people like me,
I guess BlackBerry would have made some calculations prior to deciding on the release of another legacy device and not forcing everyone to BB10.
Posted via CB10
This is a fine idea for BB if, and only if, they price it right and target the proper markets.
In emerging markets, the reason BB maintains a solid position isn't just the upfront cost, it's the ongoing plan costs. A BIS plan is still the cheapest way to get e-mail and BBM. The browsing experience is terrible on legacy OS anyway, so folks who chose this won't be looking for full data plans.
And with BBM going cross-platform, people will be able to IM with folks on their premium phones just as easily as their friends who can only afford entry level phones. Again, carriers charge extra for text messages. Some folks can't afford unlimited in other parts of the world.
Now the price. It has to be $199 or less, unsubsidized. If BB can get the price down to $99 they have a solid winner. Yes, there are Android devices at that price point, but their browsing an app capabilities are compromised by weak hardware as well. So at $99 a legacy OS device with unlimited cheap messaging is a solid seller for low income markets.
This BB isn't for anyone in North America or Western Europe.
Why not go BB10? Because I don't think BB can make the hardware that cheap, and the switch to BB10 also means a full data plan.
Keep in mind that in 75% of the world, $5-$10 a month is a significant amount of money.
It will definitely launch in India... approx price should be around 15k-17k rupees.
I don't know how they're gonna market it though!
Posted via the awesome z10 using CB10
BlackBerry Q10 is perfect BlackBerry for me! BlackBerry 10 is the Best Os for BlackBerry platform. No need go back to Os 7 or 7.1
Posted via CB10
Why?????!!!!!!!
They could've put it a Peral style or something. But, I hope they feel that it is the right direction for the company.
Posted via CB10
If I can't afford blackberry 10 by buying the Q10, that is the blackberry I will be getting. And then this lovely bold will be kept a as a spare. Why you might ask? If one phone gets damaged (this one almost got HOSED by a sprraying watering jet along the bicycle path, had it not been in the tight fitting holster), what would I be using to read crackberry with and to respond to and send e-mail, bbm, amonst other things? I wouldn't have anything.
People just need to learn to appreciate that north america (united states, canada) are not the only two places on earth and also, there are people living on and above (slightly), the poverty line. They can't aford the latest-greatest of anything AT ALL. So a cheap, blackberry, will likely be their new phone AND they can come here for help, since this is the top place for it.
I think this phone is a waste of resources and hurts the brand more than it helps as I've mentioned in other posts. Focus should have been spent on making the Q5 free. For the people who are positive on this device, what is different about this phone from other BB7 devices? What does it solve that the older models don't? The OS was already stretched past its limits and there wasn't anything that hardware could do to fix that. This device looks awful, has the same limitations, so it's just an awful decision and gives people yet another reason to ridicule BlackBerry.
X.
Posted via CB10
Posted via CB10
Tons of users in emerging markets choose BlackBerry for the cheap BIS plans and/or BBM. How would BB10 ever work there since BIS isn't used in BB10? And with BBM going cross platform, they can just move to a cheap Android if they just want BBM and do not care as much about BIS data plans. I guess someday BB10 phones will be able to be sold for cheap, but I bet a lot of people will avoid them if they have to pay for a more expensive plan. If the 9900/9930 aren't able to be sold for cheap after being released two years, ago then what about the BB10 phones in 2015 and beyond? So will legacy BBOS be around for a long time? I can see as long as they are still legacy phones (eventually BB10 sales will eclipse legacy..maybe later this year) but when do you pull the plug like XP?
At my company, the only BB's offered are the 9930 and 9810 and most of those are in use. Some Curves and older Torch's are still floating around. But pretty much everyone picks an iPhone or Galaxy if their BB breaks or if they hit their upgrade date and want to switch phones. I guess some companies will offer this 9720, but I doubt any in North America will.
BB10 may not be suited for some emerging markets yet. That's fine. BB doesn't need an insane marketshare. Some people want a decent PKB and this phone suits that. This phone may never come to NA and that's fine too. This is a global company with a global portfolio of products. Not just one device and then the older version of the same thing that's really no different and not worth the higher cost for the new one.
A lot of clueless commenters.
There is a market for a new BB07 device.
People were saying 2 years ago BB needs to kill BB07 immediately. Well its been their cash cow for quite some time and is what is bringing them threw this transition. Did apple stop making ipods after the iphone came out?
Just because you personally don't what they phone does not at all mean BB shouldn't release it. This has nothing to do with marketing. This is addressing a market and will make BB money.
Really not good idea RIM! I think BlackBerry will drop down someday! *sigh
Posted via CB10 on Z10 STL100-1
Relax people. There are markets that need to be served with OS7 and corporate clients that have not upgraded to BB10. Some of you here are such drama kings.
Posted via CB10
Keep Moving is BlackBerry's consumer marketing. Nothing about a BlackBerry 7 phone will prevent productivity with its users so it is not a campaign that is voided with the release of a device running legacy os. OS 7 will be supported for a few years to come.
I don't get all the "keep moving backwards" nonsense. It's not clever.
Posted via CB10
Better if no need BiS network, like blackberry 10.
Posted via CB10
So BBRY will sell more hardware & still make BIS revenue on this device
Not too bad but would still opt for the 9900 Keyboard & screen if I'd stay with BBOS
Please let bbs os7 die, seriously people let it go... time to move on bb10, you aren't doing bberry any good by needing this support
Posted via CB10
That's gold
Posted via CB10
OmG looking at this Hardware Design, BlackBerry is going back to past. And to bring out another BlackBerry 7 device is for me a sign that BlackBerry 10 is not good enough. The A10 is the last chance, don't mess it up Heinz
Posted z5
Hilarious that some actually think the 9720 is meant to compete against BB10 or Apple. The new phone is for emerging markets (3g service where BIS is still a huge advantage) and corporate customers running older BES (no security compromises).
is that a front camera I see?... of course it's no! Did I Just answer my own question...? Why yes I did.
Has blackberry also lost their minds... I suspect they have.
Why include a front facing camera on a device that has no real use for it?
If battery is 1450 mAh, as rumored, I reluctantly agree to pay 49USD for this nonsense.
If battery capacity is close to Q10, I'll be happy to pay 101USD for this interesting device.
Totally frustrated with this company. BlackBerry is releasing a device that can't keep up with today's technology doesn't run apps that people want and has a bad Internet experience. You have Samsung and Apple leading the tech race with devices that people want. Look at the recent quarterly results from Apple
They sold more devices in one month than blackberry can in 4 or 5 months. The marketing and development team should all be fired along with the management team. This clearly shows lack of interest from this company. All focus should be on BB10 and nothing else.
Posted via CB10
BB10 offers no advantage in developing markets and is too expensive to boot. Dropping support of corporate customers still running older BES systems would be just plain stupid. As a communications device, BBOS7 is still hard to beat.
Nokia still sells and develops Symbian devices so I don't see how what Blackberry is doing is wrong or out of the norm.
BlackBerry should be comfortable to cut into their own profits and marginal gains in sales to earn more market share. I'm not suggesting going in a Nokia route because they make almost nothing on their devices, but even shaving the prices down of each unit by about $50 would make more sense. If the Z10 launched at $499.99 retail it would be a hit, or if it stayed at $49.99 or $99.99 on a 3 year term at the time, rather than spiking to $149.99 at one point, it would be a hit. Same with the Q10, shouldve topped out at $149.99 on a 3 year term and $649.99 retail. And same with the upcoming Q5. With all these androids coming out in that mid-market spectrum (Sony experia SP, N4, GS4 mini, HTC one mini, MotoX) if the Q10 can be aggressively priced at $320 max it'll really be beneficial for BlackBerry to train to gain some ground. And that's not putting down the phone quality at all, the speed of my q10 is unmatched in my opinion. But the problem is that the general public doesn't understand
Posted via CB10
This device makes zero sense unless it's ONLY targeted at emerging markets where the 9900 is still too expensive. They should have refreshed the 9900 and re-released it at sub $220 if they felt the absolute need to sell bbOS7 phones. Like when apple "re-released" the iphone 4 and made it strictly the 8gb model, allowed a lot of Canadians to get it at $0 on tab or 2 year terms
Posted via CB10
This latest legacy phone is much cheaper to make than the 9900 series which should translate into higher profit margins.
I agree this would have been the better strategy. Effectively a premium phone scaled down but strong enough to Keep Moving. I would defiantly have supported this.
Posted via CB10
South Africa will be one of them, I honestly think its a bad idea. Stats from our biggest carrier show no growth in BlackBerry sales over the last few months. The Q5 should be priced aggressively and stop with this BBOS.
Why BlackBerry why
Posted via CB10
To make money.
While many might hate on BlackBerry for this phone. It's around for a few good reasons.
First the Q5 is still to expensive for the low cost smartphone market. The cost of the Q5 will eventually drop but until that time a phone like this is required to hold on to BlackBerry's share in developing markets.
Also Enterprise customers are slow to adopt new systems. My company (a huge US multinational) just recently started upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 systems. Our company is currently testing BES10. But this testing could take nearly a year. So if you want a work BlackBerry you don't get a choice of a BB10 OS phone at this point. So a new OS 7 phone is required to keep Enterprise customers satisfied until they fully adopt BES10.
The 9720 might make business sense in the short run, but it's bad for perception and business in the long term, especially in the consumer market. Continuing to push BBOS may end up driving future clients to other platforms. I have met people at the partner, manager or IT infrastructure level who would push for their companies to offer BYOD so they can use iPhones. Their BlackBerries were too clunky and specialized. And if people complain about the app gap on BB10, just look at BBOS.
The more BBOS phones there are, the harder it will be for BlackBerry to shed its stigma of being behind the times. The smartphone market is so much more than the enterprise setting. BB10 in enterprise will help the consumer market and vice versa.
Posted via CB10 on Z10
This phone is not meant to compete in the developed market against Apple or BB10 for that matter. Why do some insist that it is? Many developing markets may not see 4G service for years which makes BIS a great competitive advantage for BlackBerry.
Why not just sell existing OS7 devices in developing countries? Why develop new hardware? If price is really an issue, the 9320 should be the choice over the 9720 or 9900. A software update to 7.2 is a good idea though.
Posted via CB10 on Z10
Actually I live in Ecuador and literally most of Blackberry users have the Curve 9320 and some Bold 9900. This device is definitely great for countries like this where people like to pay between $150 and $300 for a device. Almost all people here makes $400 - $700 MONTHLY. BB10 have been out for a little while and I promise I've only seen like 10 people with Z10, 2 with Q10 and NONE with Q5. It's just too expensive. If 9720 sells here, it will be the new Blackberry that everybody haves, simply as that. Q10 and higher models will never propagate here
People, please look up the populations of India, Indonesia, Nigeria to name a few, then stop whining.
I know it's for other countries. What I'm saying is they need to put time and money into the US market because that's where most of the market share is. NOT third world countries. This is why they're in the position they're in now. Apple and android isn't successful because they hold great value in third world countries. I'm a huge BlackBerry fan. Look at my name. But I'm also a realist and they need to get in the fight here in the states. Your not going to over throw apple or even android but now windows is creeping into that 3rd spot in the US. That's what I'm saying.
Posted via CB10
BlackBerry needs money to market BB10 in the US. It doesn't matter where the money comes from. I simply do not understand why some people have a problem with BlackBerry making a profit servicing certain quarters of the market. BIS is a compelling advantage in some areas. BlackBerry must absolutely exploit this advantage where ever it can.
+10000
Posted via CB10
Agreed, play to your strengths
A cheap OS7 device makes sense, although a more premium keyboard would have been better.
Posted via CB10
With the massive sales of BB10 why make a new os7 phone. Oh that's right I got only of the few playbooks sold and one of the slightly more popular Z10s so they need to sell something until they can make BB11.
Posted via Z10
Here in Curacao about 70% of the smartphone users (especially teens) use BB for the unlimited BIS plans and BBM. With BBM going cross platform, that won't really be a selling point anymore, but this would be handy for all the users who still carry around their OS5+6 Curves here and love BIS, because regular data plans are not exactly cheap, especially if you wanna use 4G.
Obviously the Q5 is gonna be around ANG 700 or so ($385) and this would be priced more around ANG 500 or lower ($275) or so, seeing the prices of BB phones released in the past. Would be a great addition for us
This will be the last OS 7 device coming from BlackBerry.
After this all efforts will be pushing BlackBerry 10.
Posted via CB10
I bet Playbook sales figures were far better than this one would do. Playbook deserves better attention and resource allocation than this new crap from BlackBerry.
Keep doing this, RIP BlackBerry! If Thor approved this himself then he is also one incompetent bastard that need to be replaced. I love BlackBerry and I want them to succeed, so sad to see this company ran by clowns.
BlackBerry can make money off this device so it's a clownish decision to make money? BIS is dropped and that sparks outrage. BIS is continued to be supported and that sparks outrage. Lol!
Yes it is clownish! Absolute rubbish decision from BlackBerry. If they want to make serious money then BB10 is the one for them. BB7 is losing huge market share already in many emerging markets alone. If the decision was made purely on software upgrade, they can do so to existing BB7 devices, no need to launch another mediocre device.
Posted via CB10
I doubt BBOS7 even exists in most emerging markets. That legacy OS is very good though the Java engine it runs on has had its day. The vast majority of BlackBerry devices in emerging markets cannot be upgraded to OS7 hence the need for a new phone that is cheaper to build and one that can still be deployed in corporate situations where BB10 is still not possible on their older BES systems.
Not worth arguing shootsscores. To call a global company like this 'clowns' shows ones ignorance on the subject. Some people don't understand simple business.
BB10 can't be scaled down enough to enter lowest tier. No choice but to introduce an os7 device. 9900 is also too expensive to build compared to this.
If BlackBerry wants to be a player at the very low end, there is absolutely no other choice.
Posted via CB10
Not interested!
Posted via CB10
Do Samsung still sell low end phones? Pretty sure there is still a market.
Posted via CB10
Maybe they are also trying to maintain profits from BIS..low cost data plans in countries that can't afford expensive plans. As said before, we are not the only market and can't speak for every one else.
Looks like a Q10/Q5 hybrid with the iconic row of buttons added back.
Posted via CB10
This is most likely for emerging markets. Countries where people can't afford a Q10, Z10, or Q5. Idk why people are saying it's a bad decision. It would be bad if they tried to market it in America. I see this doing great in Africa or somewhere.
BlackBerry has obviously perceived that there is demand for the legacy OS in certain quarters. It would be plain stupid not to exploit that market which is probably made up of areas with 3g coverage where BIS is an advantage and corporations not willing as of yet to update their BES systems. Folks can say what they will but the legacy OS is still probably the best communications device available, is very data efficient and is highly secure.
Why didn't they perceive the PlayBook selling like crap? Obviously no company estimates are 100% accurate and I think people are giving them too much credit with decisions like this.
Posted via CB10
Or maybe not enough credit. Though marketing problems seem to remain, RIM is gone.
I suppose I understand the reason why they are releasing this device, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
:)
Posted via CB10
I live in Peru, and here in Latinamerica there are (seriously) lots of BB 7.1 users, even Curve 8520 and 9000 users. I have my Z10 but the BIS plans keep lots of people with the legacy devices till now. I am sure that this piece of hardware will be embraced were well here.
The Q5 will be launching in a few weeks but here will be mid-tier. The masses will want the cheapest unit and this will fit there. I see logic on this.
Posted via CB10
Global release, $0-$49 on contract or $349 device price. And it should have NFC. That would be cool.
Posted via CB10
/insert complaining
waste of money.
Z10 is an awesome device. Battery life is a bit weak but bb10 is far superior to anything on the market right now. The only thing wrong with BlackBerry now is perception. They must get creative and drive through this negativity that is clearly influenced by those profiting from BlackBerry's struggles. The stock market manipulators and morons at the US retail stores are killing this brand....
Posted via CB10
+1
Not to say BlackBerry hasn't deserved criticism, but I whole heartedly agree that the negative sentiment these days is total overkill and largely unwarranted.
Posted via CB10
+10000 Marketing sucks!
Posted via CB10
Yes, but so is BlackBerry 's marketing team.
I tried upgrading to a legacy device from my 9300 but Telus didn't have any. Even the 9900's were all being hoarded by their corporate customers. So I was forced to go with a Z10. I would have tried a Q5 but not available in Canada. Telus said they want to get rid of all legacy customers because they need special plans for the data through BIS. So I doubt the 9720 will even make it to Canada.
Why are we even entertaining this phone? Seriously. I know there's a "select" market for this prehistoric contraption, but really, BlackBerry needs to move forward and concentrate on the US market and dollar. Marketing and getting apps to the Z, Q and A coming this fall. Dead the legacy devices and turn the page already.
Posted via CB10
The U.S Market isn't the only market they have, so no they don't need to only concentrate on us. This device is most likely going to be sold in countries where people can only afford the cheaper handsets. Like countries in Africa, Middle East....
I know it's for other countries. What I'm saying is they need to put time and money into the US market because that's where most of the market share is. NOT third world countries. This is why they're in the position they're in now. Apple and android isn't successful because they hold great value in third world countries. I'm a huge BlackBerry fan. Look at my name. But I'm also a realist and they need to get in the fight here in the states. Your not going to over throw apple or even android but now windows is creeping into that 3rd spot in the US. That's what I'm saying.
Posted via CB10
But that's what the Q5 was intended for. Emerging markets!
Some corporates still haven't upgraded to latest enterprise servers. This can be one of the reasons for the release of this phone.
The back of this phone looks exactly like the hard shell case for the BlackBerry Q10..lol
Posted via CB10 with my BlackBerry Q10
Wtf is this? I hope BB goes out of business for releasing this.
WHY???
I might pick one up just to get my full bridge back. Damn, but that was/is a sweet feature of the BBOS/Playbook combo.
Has everyone forgotten about BlackBerry's commitment to emerging countries that need cheap but modern(ish) devices?????
QNX is the future
Let them kill this before it lands face down
Posted via CB10
I'm going to take a guess that this is released in, or around, November, with 10.2.
Thank CB for the leaks!!!
Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Q10
If they are targeting this device for India then let me be honest as I am from India. People are now hating Blackberry in India which once used to be a status symbol. Rather this is a fatal mistake from BB management as this low margin phone will eat up the market share if otherwise BB fans would have gone for the Q5 or Z5. Horrible move :(
Horrible device that should not be launched.
Posted via CB10
Nice to see that BlackBerry still thinks about people in markets that lack 4G/LTE.
That's what the Q5 was supposed to be for, but the made the horrible decision of giving it a mid-range phone price.
The Q5 could have started to get emerging markets on BB10, but instead we're dragging out BBOS into 2013.
Posted via CB10
The Q5 is a BB10 device and I would not buy the Q5 unless I had access to 4G/LTE network. The 9720 will most likely be for the South America market.
What if the Q5 was the same price as the 9720? Would you still pick the 9720 over the Q5?
Posted via CB10
Why would I do that? I doubt that the Q5 will be available on the same market as the 9720, so the question is irrelevant.
+1
As much as I love BB10 people need to stop bashing this device. If it's not for you don't get it. My guess is this is aimed at emerging markets and businesses that aren't willing to upgrade to BB10 yet. It's the same reason some businesses still use Windows XP. Apps for BBOS such as RSA Securid are not yet on BB10 so there's no rush for them to upgrade yet. They still want a newer BBOS device as the latest "Bold" came out Nov. 2011 on AT&T.
Does anyone know if RSA is actually coming to BB10?
Better be dirt cheap.
From zeTEN
wasn't the 9900 a better seller then the 9700? Shouldn't they make another 9900 model instead of 9700?
To gain more market share in the emerging markets just reduce the price tag of the Bold 9900 instead of investing money and time to develop this unnecessary device! But to be fair BlackBerry as a a whole needs time to transform into a future oriented company as Heins is already doin' it. The toughest point is definitely the employees to redirect their way of thinking and acting to mobile computing.
Posted via CB10
+1
Not a bad looking phone. Hope its cheap otherwise get a q5.
SQN 100-1 os 10.1.0.4687
They still sold a lot of BBOS devices last quarter so they can't just abandon that market.
Give it a break people. Apple still sold OS 9 for a long time after OS X was introduced. Microsoft still sells Windows 7 after 8 has been introduced. It's completely normal to do this.
You're wrong. Apple didn't continue to produce OS9 machines and Microsoft didn't continue to build Windows 7 devices after Windows 8. You're thinking of legacy devices, and BlackBerry still has two Bolds, two torches and four Curves, which are already built, funded and able to be mass produced and distributed cheaply to emerging markets. Building a new one like this is foolish and it doesn't introduce anything new. The previous Bolds are more capable devices! And they're developed and funded already!
I don't know how you can say I'm wrong when it's a fact that Apple still sold OS 9 as the default OS even after OS X was introduced and I can also still buy PC's they come with Windows 7 as default.
And BlackBerry still sells OS7 devices... You completely misunderstood my comment.
I so agree with everything you just said. Why a new device unload the remaining Bold's, Curve's and Torch's to the emerging markets and provide discounts and incentives to emerging markets on the Q5.
For an old OS and new hardware I would expect this device to be in the 350-400 dollar range to sell adequately. Any higher and its a bust, lower and they are probably losing money on it.
0 down. Need to give this a way for the service revenue and market share.
Posted via CB10
I guarantee that BB doesn't want to expand BBOS 7 market share, this is a stop gap product until they can make a cheaper version of the Q5.
or, until they can have other service revenue streams for BB10 that can replace BIS revenue.
Goodbye BBRY~
I might get this for my wife and daughter if the price is right and it arrives in the US. I have never seen two people who are so hard on their phones. I can't justify spending $100 or even $50 with the way they abuse their phones
Why why??? Wasn't the Q5 built for developing countries?? You lay off 250 more people but continue building outdated devices. Where is the common sense.
Someone please explain, maybe I'm missing something here.
Posted via CB10
Not quite. Q5 is still a bit too expensive for emerging countries. Maybe they can cut prices more on this one. Maybe.
Posted via CB10
That's the point. The Q5 should have been for emerging countries, but they priced it too high.
Posted via CB10
"They priced it too high."
Do you know how much a Q5 costs to build? Perhaps they priced it to make a profit. However, to your point, less profit margin in exchange for greater sell through is more important for BlackBerry at this point.
Posted via CB10
Q5 is priced high probably so it can be profitable even with the loss of BIS service revenue. Also to slow the migration in emerging market from OS7 to BB10 until alternative service revenue streams such as BBM channels is well established. Without a new OS7 phone, existing OS6 and OS7 BB users in emerging market will move off BIS to other cheap Android devices and that will not be good. Problem is if BBM is released to Android there at the same time, the new OS7 phone will not achieve what BBRY intends it to.
The Q5 is priced high so BB7 devices will continue to sell.
Drop the price and carriers with large inventories won't be able to move their stock. Once stock clears out you'll see prices fall.
I bet this is not for advanced countries. This is for emerging countries that have millions of users still using Gemini. Maybe even some Huron.
Posted via CB10
I'm with you on this. We sit well developed countries and can't see beyond our borders. I've traveled the world and this new phone is for emerging markets. Re the PlayBook I'm a huge fan but I said a year ago it will never get BB10 but devices like the A10 is the way to go.
Posted via Z10
Regardless if the only place these will be used is a substation in Antarctica - it is just plain bad practice. Did you see Chrysler bring back the K car a couple years back when they were in financial trouble? No...they pushed on with new designs and new platforms that people wanted. ..in all markets.
Posted via CB10
BlackBerry should FIRE all the marketing team and Products Managers now!!! Fire the unprofessional who keeps choosing low specs parts for BlackBerry devices and hire someone with a vision of the Future and present
Posted via CB10
Totally agree, their marketing team is horrible. There are still people I know who have no clue what BlackBerry 10 is and still think of an old curve running os 6 when they think BlackBerry. I've seen no commercials, very little advertisement and the only commercial (super bowl commercial) was pathetic. It didn't re introduce the brand or display the product capabilities... smh...
It depends where you live.
If you're in the USA, then pop along to Verizon and ask for a BlackBerry. See what happens.
Then search the internet for "Verizon owes Apple $14 billion" and you'll find exactly why BlackBerry 10 devices are not selling in the USA.
There are some pretty monopolistic practices allowed in the States. And Apple know them all.
What is the point of BlackBerry spending $450 million dollars a quarter on marketing when US carriers refuse to sell the device?
You're right it's a Racket here in the States with the carriers. But I'm not talking about advertisement from the carriers. I'm talking about BlackBerry doing there own
What's the point of BlackBerry spending billions on advertising only to have the carrier sell an iPhone when a consumer enters the store.
Unless they're going to sell direct (and would carriers allow the device on their networks) or via Amazon (who are still selling devices on carrier plans), there's no point.
Rumour has it the handcuff deals for iPhones are expiring soon. It will be interesting to see how the carriers react. Apple will have to come up with something pretty special to attract the same deal. On the other hand, the carriers may decide to take a little vengeance on Apple.
The carriers are key in the smartphone industry. Pretty well everything we complain about is down to the carriers. But without cell towers our devices are not a lot of use.
I don't know about that. I can tell you if you sell me. There's nothing the carrier can do to dissuade me and frankly carriers may be in bed with some manufacturers but in the end they want to make money.
Agree, had a friend walk in a store ready to buy a z10 after much research, only to walk out with a s4 because the store gets a. Kick back from Samsung for every device they sell. Big screen TV,holidays etc. Marketing needs to go beyond advertising but insentivise those that sell the devices.
Posted via CB10
First people need to know about BlackBerry 10, I feel like only BlackBerry fans really know. And that's because, there are no commercials. As for the carriers, BlackBerry should do the same, offer carrier sales people incentives to push z10's Q10's and Q5's, just like Samsung does.
As a user /shareholder I wholeheartedly agree.
Product Managers: shit.
Marketing department:shit
Human Resources: shit
Most of the Board of Directors who have guided this ship into iceberg after iceberg: obviously shit
Posted via CB10
+1
Posted via CB10
Probably it was a way to get rid of some raw materials they had on had and make a profit in the process. Emerging markets will be glad for this and maybe still see a 7.2 upgrade later on, who knows.
Via my Zormtrooper...
1+
True!
No need for this device!
BlackBerry should commit to BB10!!
Posted via CB10
This isn't even a BB10 phone. It can't even use Stickers. Whew
Posted via CB10
Looks like a cheap ass Android phone.
Again a horrible device to be launched at this point in time. It would have had been a lot better if this was a 3.1 or a 3.5 inch screen qwerty. God knows why is BB wasting money with this. Instead of this I would have loved to see the Z5 (4.2 inch full touch mid tier device) get launched. Total waste of time. Would have been better for BB to send a OS 7.2 update rather than this piece of crap. Totally disappointing :(
Please update the Bold 9900 with OS 7.1 !
~Larger battery
~Autofocus camera
~4G lte
~No duplicate Contacts bug
~TrackPad
~It's the best of both worlds for a *communications* device, if you don't care much about Apps.
~Need I say more?
;)
Ditto what he said!
++1
I find LTE on my Q10 is a easy way to hit bandwidth limits so if that can't be added it'd be okay, just increase the abilities of the current radio would be cool as it all ready works in places most other phones do not.
Posted via CB10
I agree 100% with Parthiv. What an awful decision on the part of BlackBerry. They talk about tablets becoming absolete and refrain from spending money on so much as updating the PlayBook and it's outdated apps,but then go and spend money on launching a brand new legacy phone. Smh. I can guarantee you this their won't be a real market for this phone in the US at least. Waiste of time and money...
a) Not updating the PlayBook has zero co-relation with making a 'new' BBOS 7 device.
b) There are still markets that need really cheap devices, in which the Q5 isn't cheap enough
and c) The US isn't the only market in the world, and most likely this phone wouldn't be targeted at NA anyways.
A) this is not about a co-relation between PlayBook and BBOS 7. It's about spending money on producing a device that is outdated. It just happens to be ironic that Heinz feels that tablets, a growing market in the US and worldwide is a waste of time, money and effort yet he decides to pursue the production of an os7 device.
B) I agree that there are still markets that need really cheap devices, but the cost of producing a brand new legacy devise vs. It's profitability doesn't seem to me justifiable. And maybe I'm wrong about this, I don't know, but what I do know is that you don't revert, you push on with your new technology. You can offer incentives, discounts, whatever it takes, but you don't ever revert back to very technology that gave you a bad name. You won't see Apple or Google doing this.
C) finally you are absolutely correct the US isn't the only market in the world, which is why I can't speak as to other markets and can only say that here in the US it will not be embraced and frankly makes the company look like they are unsure of their new product.
I completly agree with you. It's just not sensible to put money on a new legacy device when BB10 is already out there. It would have been better to put money and efforts in producing a entry level BB10 or a mid tier full touch screen BB10 device. And to see that they are not willing to honor their promise to take BB10 to the playbook and rather put money in a new "old" device is just stupid.
Why crackberry people cant be ceo s of blackberry???? Sorry maybe german are good socker but please herr heins...räumen sie ihr büro...danke
a) The Tablet market is a bit more competitive than the smartphone market (Apple still has 35%, Samsung 21.4%), Microsoft has 2.3% despite their big push, they lost $900 million on the RT. So yeah I don't fault Thor for being hesitant on jumping back in. Regarding BBOS 7 isn't exactly dead, older versions of the BES software (pre-BES10) only support these devices, and businesses take long to update hardware.
b) Businesses won't buy new phone hardware if they don't have the correct version of BES to support them. BB10 has nothing in common to BBOS 7, there is no legacy equivalent to iOS or Android so you can't compare them.
c) If the phone isn't marketed or sold in the US how would it damage BB's brand in the US?
+1
Sent from my iPuh-lease-as-IF
You have a point bmaz but news of the new os7 carries. I think this would work if BlackBerry is smart and produces legacy phones for emerging markets from left over hardware, but I'm hesitant to believe that reverting back to old technology is the way to go. As for the tablet market I agree it's very competitive and understand Thor's hesitation, but BlackBerry and RIM before it has traditionally been a conservative company in a dynamic market and that hasn't worked for them. It's why it took so long for BB10 to come out and why it's in the predicament it's in now. BlackBerry 's motto now since bb10 has been to keep moving forward. If they're going to invest money on bringing back os7 running off of a Java platform it seems like a step back when they can invest on PlayBook and tablets in general. They came out of their shell by investing in BB10 during a time where competition is huge with handheld devices and produced a good product. Why not invest in a product that shares QNX in common with BB10. Either way there is no guarantees that the new os7 device will render huge profits. Push bb10 on emerging markets and rather invest on cheaper options. This is just my humble opinion.
Your opinion is based on facts that you want to acknowledge.
You haven't acknowledged how much money ($900 million) Mircrosoft has lost trying to get into the Tablet market. Money that BB can't afford to lose, They have lost enough already on the PlayBook.
You also haven't acknowledged that a lot of business still use older versions of BES, that can't be used to administer BB10 devices. Some companies still uses Windows XP.
Anyways this is my last post on this topic.
Another thing to keep in mind is just how cost effective it is to continue to support 2 operating systems running on 2 entirely different platforms. I know currently BlackBerry is supporting both bb10 and legacy phones as they should cause there are still a lot of customers out there using legacy phones, but the point is to eventually get them off the legacy devices and compel them to upgrade to bb10, not to build a new legacy device and continue to have the headache of supporting both. Which is why I believe if they're going to invest money on anything it should be on updating and supporting the PlayBook, even if it's not upgraded to bb10 at least in that case, both devices are running os's based on the same QNX platform.
Microsoft's share is only low because they don't count win 8 devices as tablets. If they did you would see it is much higher. They may have lost money on RT but the Pro is a fabulous product. The more I use it the more I say this is the only thing I want.
Posted via CB10
You really should pay attention to what Mr Heins actually says, rather than what you think he says - or the spin that others blast.
Thorsten Heins said there was "no money in tablets" - not that tablets were dead. He also said one vendor has sewn up the premium tablet market, and the rest of the market is overflowing with cheap Android devices.
It's just not worth BlackBerry producing a tablet. They'd make a loss on every device they sold.
Doesn't mean they couldn't produce a large screen device though. Just not a Playbook Version 2.
Semantics. He said there's no money in tablets and that tablets would become irrelevant in a few years.
He's obviously right on the first point, and as for the second, we'll have to wait and see. My guess is there'll be displays everywhere that link to our phones and that's why he thinks tablets will become irrelevant. Who knows maybe we'll watch 3D movies on glasses - like an expanded Google Glass.
Maybe we'll see.
ONE ACRONYM: BIS!!!!
+1
What a waste of money. BlackBerry should be trying to get users over to BB10 and focus completely on that, not expand a dated OS line. Yet another reason why BlackBerry is slowly but surely sinking.
Posted using my Z10... soon to be Android or Apple
Holy frig you guys just don't get it. There are very valid reasons to put out another oS7 phone. If you think BlackBerry want to do it you would be wrong. They can't just force all BlackBerry owners to 10.
It won't work. Try heavy handing anyone you know, and watch their reaction to that approach. You will get a Big FU. There are far more risks to Not releasing a legacy phone than there are releasing one. Just because you don't understand consumers and business, do doesn't make it stupid. I repeat, they need to release that phone. It is an important move weather or not it seems backwards to you. And no I am not going to write a 12 page essay to explain this precisely. That phone will most likely be the last legacy phone produced. Get over it.
Posted via CB10
You didn't make any valid points there. Obviously BlackBerry still has to support BB7 devices until all users have switched to 10, but if you keep making new legacy devices some people will still buy them and that just prolongs the need to support a dead OS. There is no point to support 2 OS's aby longer than is necessary. I don't see Apple making new devices that only run iOS6, or Samsung making new devices for Honeycomb. If price in emerging markets is the issue then taking less of a margin on the Q5 would make way more sense in order to get people on to 10 and not prolong 7 support.
Posted using my Z10... soon to be Android or Apple
I have to agree. I'm a big Z10 fan, but this just seems like such a backward move for a company that is trying to convince people they are moving forward. Maybe there is some demand for this old technology, but to me it's seems a waste of valuable resources and the optics are terrible for the company.
Posted via CB10
I really wish people would consider the MASSIVE enterprise installed base of BES before they consider a new BB7 device to be a "horrible device to be launched at this time". Enterprise moves very, very slow and it will be a very long time before they begin to roll out BES10 and BB10. It needs to be tested. Procedures need to be developed. Employee training needs to be taken care of. The IT support staff need ample time to become familiar with the platform.
There are also many markets around the world where BIS and the ability to bill by device feature (using service books) is vitally important. These are not only emerging markets, but world travelers who don't want to get stung with massive roaming data charges.
These are things the tech media, analysts and consumers tend to easily forget. Or just don't know.
Then you update the software of existing legacy devices, no make new hardware and updated software.
It's a waste of time and resources.
As for the other markets using this that aren't ready for bb10 yet, let me ask you- what do you think is more valuable? A bb10 user or a legacy user? Think about that. BlackBerry could subsidize those low end bb10 devices and get those users onto the platform, not losing subscribers and getting them onto the new platform.
The magnitude of wrong this business decision is will bite the company for a long time.
Posted via CB10
A legacy user is more valuable due to the continued revenue from BIS. BES as well is a monthly fee on legacy devices.
Looks like a great device.
I might even switch back to get BIS and the essential trackpad. Not that I expect it would ever go on sale in North America.
Sold at a lower price than the Q5 in price sensitive markets, this really could be a life saver for BlackBerry. They should have done this last year though. Maybe then their stock price wouldn't have collapsed.
Totally agree. But it's for poor third world ppl.