BlackBerry investors may be sharpening their pitchforks after hearing today's Q1 F2014 results, but good luck getting that thing on the plane to Kitchener-Waterloo for the annual general meeting on July 9. In less than two weeks, shareholders will have a chance to voice their concerns about the company, and our own Fearless Leader, Kevin Michaluk, will be in attendance. No doubt he'll spend some time while in the area to visit with BlackBerry folks and get a few sneak peeks like he did last year.
At that time, there was a lot of talk from an activist shareholder about looking to sell off BlackBerry. Will we hear similar talk this go-around? One way or the other, it's bound to be a tense affair, through which BlackBerry's "Keep Moving Forward" mantra will likely come in handy.
Will you be going? How many of you are BlackBerry shareholders? What would you say to the BlackBerry leadership if given the chance at one of these events?
Reader comments
BlackBerry annual general meeting set for July 9
Very surprised that a site about BlackBerry doesn't provide the Reader option. I can't even change the text size. Please, get with it.
Posted via CB10
Keep BBM or it will be RIP BlackBerry
Posted via CB10
This image breaks my heart :(
How can BlackBerry be focused on revolutionizing the industry with a mobile computing platform and not have a 7"and 10" PlayBook offering?
--> Too many bean counters making a decision based solely on volume. It's time to go private and bring in a sales oriented exec to right this ship before it goes too far off the path QNX was built for.
Posted via CB10
I never thought the BB faithful were all farmers with pitchforks! ROTFL!!!
Jlc999. Fantastic post.
Posted via CB10
I hope everyone that writes on CB is a bb10 user, or.... shut... I am a 2 phone a year type of person, prove you are a BlackBerry fan, and buy z10 and then next week buy a q10 :) hahha just to spice up thread...
Posted via CB10
A few points on what BBRY should do NOW:
1) Pricing Policy: BB management is an IDIOT to price their phones at the top end of the range ESPECIALLY when the newer android phones from Samsung and HTC are far more powerful processor, screen size resolution and battery wise. Also MOST IMPORTANTLY BB10 still lacks a lot of commonly used apps. I am totally with the BB management in terms of as its a new platform it lacks apps and we are growing in number of apps. So all these are very logical and important reason why the pricing for ESPECIALLY the Z10 and Q5 should have been slightly lower for US, CANADA and UK and a lot lot lower in markets like India, Africa, Middle East and Latin America.
If I were Heins I would have wanted more VOLUMES irrespective of the hardware margins at this juncture. With competitive pricing of my hardware I could have had more hands using my superb OS BB10 and also that would have lured many app developers and someone like Google to make native BB10 apps. But thanks to BB management they screwed this opportunity.
2) DELAY EXECUTION: BB has now been an expert at product launch delays. Why the HELL did you announce the opening up of BBM to Android and IOS so long ago when you are still going to wait for one more month to release it. Why the HELL are you giving such a lot of time to Watsapp and Vibers of the world to improve their apps?? Totally fail to understand this logic.
3) Horrible Marketing and Waste of Marketing Dollars: The superbowl ad was the MOST pathetic one I had ever seen. You fools when the world does not know what BB10 is and how it looks why do you show what it can't do. You guys should have simply shown what it does Hub, Peek and Flow that would have atleast given a feel of how better BB10 is and what we can expect from it. Many corporates would have also seen the same and would have loved it. What has been the logic of Hiring Alicia Keys? Dude you could have spent that access in newspaper ads, TV Commercials. In my opinion the keep moving project concert etc is rubbish. The only thing I loved was the partnership with Mercedes and announcement of scholarship for women. May be more scholarships and more money should have been spent to give away to app developers. That would have added a lot more value.
Hope they improve themselves and deliver better value for money. Unfortunately I just came to know that Q5 has been offered at $400 its WAY TO HIGH FOR A CHEAP 5 MP, 1.2 GHz and cheap Plastic phone. It should have been $300-$350 MAX! I don't care if they sacrifice a bit of margins they should rather focus on improving the manufacturing and component costs. Samsungs and NOW even many Indian companies like Micromax, Karbonn http://www.micromaxinfo.com/ http://www.karbonnmobiles.com/ These companies are making phones which are of Z10 Quality and Specifications and run on Android 4.1-4.2 and are priced at $250-$300. We must not forget expect for developed countries where BB does only 30-40% of business in terms of revenue the phones sold elsewhere are NOT SUBSIDIZED. So pricing becomes very important.
Parthiv Shah
M.S. in Telecommunications
University of Maryland, College Park
Batch : 2008
Email: parthiv124@gmail.com
+1. Lots of good arguments. We've all been saying similar things, but you put it together well. Maybe they will listen.
Thing is, many folks are locked in to contracts, especially after Christmas. How many folks can afford to break those contracts? Few. It will take time for folks to get on board. Indeed, for the developing world, prepaid price is key, so I agree they must get the price on the Q5 and Z5 down to the $300-350 range. There are too many Android clones out there, and BlackBerry must secure their piece of the pie.
If I get to go, I am going to thank them for making BlackBerry 10. The platform is so good and the new hardware is awesome. Not kidding, they're amazing devices running awesome software, lots of apps too.
What I want to suggest to them is they need to be very aggressive now with the marketing. People have zero clue about the scope of BlackBerry 10 having QNX at it's core. People have no clue why BlackBerry 10 software and hardware is so much better than other platforms. They have no clue just how long BlackBerry has been at this mobile computing game. Pioneers.
BlackBerry makes smartphones, that's what they do. Their focus is on making smartphones be the one and only mobile computer, and they have done that, with BlackBerry 10. There's no need for a tablet to be in the middle. I like tablets, sure, and I like my PlayBook. But, at the end of the day, they're actually "just another device" to clutter up what is true and real: the smartphone is and will eventually become the one and only central device to needed to manage a persons total digital business and personal needs in life, like a HUB. A BlackBerry HUB.
Posted via CB10
One thing I'm still thankful for is that I convinced myself not to buy more BB on Thursday @ $13.80 in a greedy anticipation of a bounce after earnings; I already took enough loss on the ones I bought in 2011 @ $62 and I'm still reeling with the loss (unsold stocks are currently worth exactly $3136); aren't I lucky?
CBK, please arrange an interview with TH, MB & KT before the AGM for us please.. we CB nations would like to hear more from them of what's happening with:
- the death of PB
- the 10.1 OS drama in the US
- what will be the next for 10.2 OS --> hopefully this OS will shut the sh*t every nay-sayers off out there
- the progression of the next iteration of BB10 portfolio, will our Z/Q get a continual support (just like iOS) for AT LEAST 24-36 months from now rather than the previous BB OS devices (OS5 to OS6 but OS6 not to OS7 then OS7 is a dead end)
this will be appreciated. thanks!
come on BBRY, KEEP US MOVING WITH YOU!!!
#bb10believe
As a shareholder and proud Z10 owner I like the products that the company has delivered already this year. Unfortunately it isn't enough just to have a nice platform anymore you need the apps to draw in the popular crowd and you need to regain the trust of those you lost with the last of the legacy devices. They're on the right track but need to "Keep Moving" and do it soon to appease Wall Street.
Posted via CB10
Kevin, ask them if at least we can get the BB10 browser and keyboard for the PlayBook.
Posted via CB10
BlackBerry break your current marketing Glass... time to change:
1- http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3229227
2- Excellent Q5 AD : http://t.crackberry.com/blackberry-q5-commercial
Ask which one of them will commit honorable suicide, Japanese style? Ok, that was harsh...maybe in a few days I won't feel so negative. It's not like I've not been through this kind of letdown once before already with HP (webOS). Having Deja vu.
Does anyone know what Michael Dell is up to? Why not offer him a nice chunk of shares to come on board and be the spokes person and technical advisor.
Also they need to have sales reps educating every mobile store on the phone. I can't tell you how many of them have no idea how good the phone is. An iPhone is easy to sell so that is what they sell.
Posted via CB10
+1
Posted via CB10
DON'T sell the Company :(
Posted via White BlackBerry Z10 baby
More visibility now.
Corporate customers are ok. Remains the rest of the universe. Place a l EMOTION.
Drop Alicia. And hire West-Kardashian with North. Yesss, baby North.
Take in account Bieber & Drake do be Canadians. Add Rozay with his Maybach car, and perhaps Nicki and the Youngs ...
Last but not leasr, Miley begins to twerk sinse last week.
yess for this. i agree.
Marketing: talk to Starbucks. Set up a little blackberry promo table outside of Starbucks across the US. Fun, light, informative demos of the new phones. You hit an audience that spends a premium on coffee and there is plenty of traffic coming and going. Be creative guys. You gotta hit the pavement. How about wrapping an entire bus with a Blackberry ad? Have BlackBerry buses driving around the cities. Essentially a moving billboard. I could go on.
Posted via CB10
Go private already
Posted via CB10
BLOG:
This morning was painful and left me and many others feeling numb. And angry. Personally, when things look as ugly as they did today, it's not my nature to sulk. I like looking for fixes.
I appreciate the author's suggestions for how to still profit from trading this stock, despite a general distaste for profiting from a company's demise through shorting it.
While many/most of the BBRY faithful are in a state of shock, as the day progressed, and having scanned through numerous posts, there were a few observations that came to me as to how one might respond to today's news that certainly were not reported during the earnings report or Q/A session that followed. At times like this, I think it is reasonable to look at how one can change direction or rectify unaddressed problems. That problems exist, should go without saying.
Almost everyone today seems to be working under the assumption that BBRY did everything "right" over the last few quarter or two and is beginning to wonder where they can find life preservers. That may in fact prove to be a wise move, but I think over the last few quarters there are basic things that BBRY has done glaringly wrong that have led them to this place and must be addressed right away. Some of these items haven been raised before and arrogantly dismissed by bulls.
The first is that the Z10 and Q10 have received very strong reviews from critics and from end users. However, BBRY has done an extremely poor job communicating the benefits of these devices to the public. Grade "F". I don't fully agree with the concept that the smartphone market is saturated: that's just another way of saying that no one wants to buy the products that are available because they are not a sufficient incremental improvement (iPhone 5, S4) or because they have not been properly marketed and advertised (BB 10 devices).
I mean, everyone has a car: does that mean the car market is saturated and should be blamed for poor sales? Nonsense.
I use concurrently an iPhone 5 and Z10. The Z10 beats the pants off the iPhone in many ways. Faster screen refresh. Much better radios (better connectivity, lower battery use as well). Much faster email updates (I pulled my iP 5 to check Yahoo mail while walking on the street, saw a spinning circle for 20 seconds, gave up: I pulled out the Z10, bam, email there). Much better typing experience. Multitasking. Etc. What have we seen in BBRY ads since the Super Bowl? People on fire and doing somersaults. Who does this appeal to? Clearly, not nearly enough people as those who remain long BBRY would like.
On Monday BBRY should fire the current ad agency, replace whoever is responsible for this at the corporate level, and immediately institute a plan for actually showing why the devices are better, esp the Z10: the Q10 will do a better job selling itself (and besides, the concept of a "hot" product and QWERTY keyboard was over a long time ago except for the 3% of smartphone users on the planet who still prefer it. (BBRY should love the Q10 users to death, but I doubt much progress will be made convincing members of the iOS or Android crowd who want more screen real estate: if they had wanted a keypad, they'd still be using one).
Instead, BBRY needs an Apple vs Windows type campaign; it needs a T-mobile gal next door to gal on motorcycle campaign; it needs a Progressive Insurance gal type campaign; it needs an Allstate "Mayhem" campaign. You get the idea. It needs something to capture the imagination of end users. No more somersaults!!!! Show the d*** devices in use, just like Apple puts in our faces every day, by real people either having fun or on the corporate level getting their lives moving, not doing gymnastics.
As an example, I was speaking with a Fidelity rep today. He uses an iPhone. We talked for a half hour about options strategies, back and forth, up and down. Smart guy. He was totally unaware of the intuitive typing feature on the BB10 devices. That identifies a BIG problem between what BBRY has to offer and what people think it offers. I have yet to tell or show someone that feature without getting a "wow". People don't even know what the heck BBRY has to offer.
For whatever strengths he has (and I'm much less sure of them after today), T Heins is not Steve Jobs and will never inspire that kind of interest in his products or passion in the company that make people stand up and take notice. Sorry, but that's the truth. BBRY needs a major makeover in how it presents itself to the world.
The second item has to do with communication and tech support. There are many BBRY loyalists who are/have given up on the new devices despite their passion for the company due to difficult transitions from prior devices. Yea, really. One of those users posted on topic this past week and was pummeled for saying this. This is due in part to TERRIBLE corporate communications, described time and time again in the user to user BB support forums by individuals who got their Z10 or Q10 phone home fully expecting the equivalent of BB Desktop Manager only to find the marginally functional BB Link software, original version garbage. The fact that this was not spelled out for BBRY users was inexcusable. To make matters worse, there was no easy way to get help for the subsequent problems as the wireless providers were either clueless or not in a position to address missing features in the new BB Link. Any attempt to reach BBRY led to a redirect back to the wireless provider. This did not and does not make for a happy consumer, just go to the support forums to see this voiced over and over if you still don't believe. Yea, really.
BBRY needs to get over this arrogant position and step up to the plate to provide better support for its own ecosystem, not leave users in the hands of AT&T, Verizon, etc. Apple has no problem providing face to face HUMAN support from experienced individuals. BBRY can learn to use the phones it makes to talk to end users. At a minimum. Just as Apple is taking the Hub concept and applying it in its iOS7 upgrade (to some degree, final specs unknown), BBRY should take ownership of its devices as well, provide better direct corporate support, and not ignore dedicated or new users, give them human to human support, right out of Apple's playbook. This will help stem the tide of BB10 users who are frustrated and giving up and migrating to other platforms as forum user after user spells out, and has been spelled out recently in SA. All that bashing did was overlook a real problem in how BBRY treats its own.
As an end user with multiple device options, I can say from personal experience that markedly improving these areas of advertising, more honest communication with end users (no more "we're going to sell 10's of millions of Q10's" or lack of info on BB Link and other product releases), and better device support, IMHO, are likely to help retain subscribers and generate a more passionate and devoted following, and will complement the other efforts the company is making to move forward.
After a very difficult day, these are just some ideas to move forward. The time to make these moves is NOW. At least, that's one users (strong) perspective, someone who really does not want to make the iPhone (at least as it is) the "best" I've got to work with. It would be a shame, not to mention a step backwards, apps and all.
I hope someone at BBRY actually reads this.
Agreed BlackBerry just needs a new marketing team, start with that and it'll get u places
Posted via CB10
I would say hire me as a marketing I can turn the company around I have a MS degree in Business economics
Posted via CB10
"MS degree in Business economics" A Microsoft degree in business economics will only get you into third place in the standings... ;) (/sarcasm)
I hope the board actually see this q1 result as a huge improvement from the previous year. BlackBerry is in the right direction and given time it will once again rise to be the premium brand. Now is not the time to stop but to pick up speed and be more aggressive in their keep moving tag line. New products, new services, new partnership, new cooperations and keep moving. We will see by Q4 the company will be not just making profit but have set a solid foundation for BB10. BlackBerry keep moving.
Posted via CB10
I hyped bb10 for a long time before it came out. I convinced my brother and two friends to buy it. My two friends returned it after a week and my bro doesn't like it but has kept it. I could not convince my girlfriend for the life of me to get one. She chose to upgrade to iPhone 5. I have yet to see another z10 or q10 in the wild.
For awhile I was convinced that BlackBerry was going to make a comeback and the stock would go to $20 and beyond. I bought stock at $10 last year and sold everything this Wednesday.I finally came to terms with the fact that the z10 and q10 are just OK and will not be a catalyst to connect with consumers the way I had hoped. I think BlackBerry is too conservative with regards to hardware and software design . I feel like BlackBerry failed in its attempt to reinvent itself and it's a major bummer!
Posted via CB10
Hi Jic999,
That long one is a good blog. Can you post it somewhere that others can get the URL link to it? Then, folks here can tweet it. And some can even directly send it to some good hands at RIM.
MS
I will try to find the link but I made two screen shot links and sent it BB marketing, and VP
Part 1 : http://snag.gy/hF2A1.jpg
Part 2: http://snag.gy/aM3ZA.jpg
Don't go nuts people. They have hardly had a chance to sell anything plus there are more new products coming up. All this talk about short squeezes has people expecting too much. I say you have to wait until Q1 2015 when all products have been out for a year and. Christmas sales season has gone by. That will tell the tale.
Posted via CB10
Change this CEO!!
Hey... Blackberry Marketing team, we listened and watched your Z10 and Q10 Ad campaign , it was a good effort. Now we need actual users talking the nuts and bolts of the Z10 and Q10 in an AD. The Q5 AD even though it was a long 2 minute commercial, it was very well done showing all the features. Now we need lawyers , stock brokers , medical professional, youngsters etc in a commercial showing off the Z10 / Q10 and Q5.
My Buddy sent me this from a blog, .... interesting:
_____________________________________________
BLOG:
This morning was painful and left me and many others feeling numb. And angry. Personally, when things look as ugly as they did today, it's not my nature to sulk. I like looking for fixes.
I appreciate the author's suggestions for how to still profit from trading this stock, despite a general distaste for profiting from a company's demise through shorting it.
While many/most of the BBRY faithful are in a state of shock, as the day progressed, and having scanned through numerous posts, there were a few observations that came to me as to how one might respond to today's news that certainly were not reported during the earnings report or Q/A session that followed. At times like this, I think it is reasonable to look at how one can change direction or rectify unaddressed problems. That problems exist, should go without saying.
Almost everyone today seems to be working under the assumption that BBRY did everything "right" over the last few quarter or two and is beginning to wonder where they can find life preservers. That may in fact prove to be a wise move, but I think over the last few quarters there are basic things that BBRY has done glaringly wrong that have led them to this place and must be addressed right away. Some of these items haven been raised before and arrogantly dismissed by bulls.
The first is that the Z10 and Q10 have received very strong reviews from critics and from end users. However, BBRY has done an extremely poor job communicating the benefits of these devices to the public. Grade "F". I don't fully agree with the concept that the smartphone market is saturated: that's just another way of saying that no one wants to buy the products that are available because they are not a sufficient incremental improvement (iPhone 5, S4) or because they have not been properly marketed and advertised (BB 10 devices).
I mean, everyone has a car: does that mean the car market is saturated and should be blamed for poor sales? Nonsense.
I use concurrently an iPhone 5 and Z10. The Z10 beats the pants off the iPhone in many ways. Faster screen refresh. Much better radios (better connectivity, lower battery use as well). Much faster email updates (I pulled my iP 5 to check Yahoo mail while walking on the street, saw a spinning circle for 20 seconds, gave up: I pulled out the Z10, bam, email there). Much better typing experience. Multitasking. Etc. What have we seen in BBRY ads since the Super Bowl? People on fire and doing somersaults. Who does this appeal to? Clearly, not nearly enough people as those who remain long BBRY would like.
On Monday BBRY should fire the current ad agency, replace whoever is responsible for this at the corporate level, and immediately institute a plan for actually showing why the devices are better, esp the Z10: the Q10 will do a better job selling itself (and besides, the concept of a "hot" product and QWERTY keyboard was over a long time ago except for the 3% of smartphone users on the planet who still prefer it. (BBRY should love the Q10 users to death, but I doubt much progress will be made convincing members of the iOS or Android crowd who want more screen real estate: if they had wanted a keypad, they'd still be using one).
Instead, BBRY needs an Apple vs Windows type campaign; it needs a T-mobile gal next door to gal on motorcycle campaign; it needs a Progressive Insurance gal type campaign; it needs an Allstate "Mayhem" campaign. You get the idea. It needs something to capture the imagination of end users. No more somersaults!!!! Show the d*** devices in use, just like Apple puts in our faces every day, by real people either having fun or on the corporate level getting their lives moving, not doing gymnastics.
As an example, I was speaking with a Fidelity rep today. He uses an iPhone. We talked for a half hour about options strategies, back and forth, up and down. Smart guy. He was totally unaware of the intuitive typing feature on the BB10 devices. That identifies a BIG problem between what BBRY has to offer and what people think it offers. I have yet to tell or show someone that feature without getting a "wow". People don't even know what the heck BBRY has to offer.
For whatever strengths he has (and I'm much less sure of them after today), T Heins is not Steve Jobs and will never inspire that kind of interest in his products or passion in the company that make people stand up and take notice. Sorry, but that's the truth. BBRY needs a major makeover in how it presents itself to the world.
The second item has to do with communication and tech support. There are many BBRY loyalists who are/have given up on the new devices despite their passion for the company due to difficult transitions from prior devices. Yea, really. One of those users posted on topic this past week and was pummeled for saying this. This is due in part to TERRIBLE corporate communications, described time and time again in the user to user BB support forums by individuals who got their Z10 or Q10 phone home fully expecting the equivalent of BB Desktop Manager only to find the marginally functional BB Link software, original version garbage. The fact that this was not spelled out for BBRY users was inexcusable. To make matters worse, there was no easy way to get help for the subsequent problems as the wireless providers were either clueless or not in a position to address missing features in the new BB Link. Any attempt to reach BBRY led to a redirect back to the wireless provider. This did not and does not make for a happy consumer, just go to the support forums to see this voiced over and over if you still don't believe. Yea, really.
BBRY needs to get over this arrogant position and step up to the plate to provide better support for its own ecosystem, not leave users in the hands of AT&T, Verizon, etc. Apple has no problem providing face to face HUMAN support from experienced individuals. BBRY can learn to use the phones it makes to talk to end users. At a minimum. Just as Apple is taking the Hub concept and applying it in its iOS7 upgrade (to some degree, final specs unknown), BBRY should take ownership of its devices as well, provide better direct corporate support, and not ignore dedicated or new users, give them human to human support, right out of Apple's playbook. This will help stem the tide of BB10 users who are frustrated and giving up and migrating to other platforms as forum user after user spells out, and has been spelled out recently in SA. All that bashing did was overlook a real problem in how BBRY treats its own.
As an end user with multiple device options, I can say from personal experience that markedly improving these areas of advertising, more honest communication with end users (no more "we're going to sell 10's of millions of Q10's" or lack of info on BB Link and other product releases), and better device support, IMHO, are likely to help retain subscribers and generate a more passionate and devoted following, and will complement the other efforts the company is making to move forward.
After a very difficult day, these are just some ideas to move forward. The time to make these moves is NOW. At least, that's one users (strong) perspective, someone who really does not want to make the iPhone (at least as it is) the "best" I've got to work with. It would be a shame, not to mention a step backwards, apps and all.
I hope someone at BBRY actually reads this.
Bravo!
Posted via CB10
People are over reacting z10 has been out only four months Q10 one month. Let's see how BlackBerry fares when they have all six devices available for sale
Posted via CB10
AMEN!!!!
I understand disappointment, but have some perspective!
Posted via CB10
Final one my ass go blackberry :)
Posted via CB10
Queue the song "heads will roll" by the yeah yeah yeahs.
But seriously, I think blackberry is still okay. In a years time if the situation doesn't improve then there's justification to be concerned.
Posted via CB10
To quote a famous song from 2pac "I ain't mad at cha" BlackBerry for not bringing bb10 to playbook, I understand the reasoning, concentrate on selling phones and not updating a near 3 year old tablet that never sold well (i still think playbook is better than ipad). I still have faith in BlackBerry. As a loyal customer and shareholder I understand that it takes at least a year or maybe even two to bounce back from such a big fall from the top. People expect miracles right away forgetting that this is a new OS, only 5months old and still not even available 100% worldwide. Apple's rise to the top from near bankruptcy took several years and last I checked BlackBerry is nowhere near bankruptcy. BlackBerry just needs way better marketing to make the general public more aware of bb10 and it's features. With all that being said as long as BlackBerry is still around I would never use another device.
Posted via CB10
So much for a comeback story....nice try, but sad to say I believe this is really the beginning of the end for berry. still love my z10 and the os though
Posted via CB10
I can't attend so I voted via proxy. Good luck Kevin, your views are in line with mine. I look forward to seeing your articles, videos and comments.
Cheers,
Mike
Posted via CB10
It's going to be a loud and obnoxious meeting, that is for sure. The Board and CEO Heins might have to borrow some police riot gear for protection. They should at least be sitting behind a table on the stage with paper bags over their heads.
Posted via CB10
I would tell them it is time that BlackBerry can focus more on youth, when I was a young man of 18 years I realize that many of my friends prefer BLU trademarks or shit like Huawei because they have an android OS 2.xx worth between $ 70 and $ 115 pffffffff never a BlackBerry will have that price and is fair to sell quality to its users but please from my 14 years I use the BlackBerry and always liked and I liked it but I think young brand loyal are few it's time to your system is a lot more exciting than iOS or android, I think there were many techniques to convince users to switch to BB 10, if people likes a more dynamic environment, with more applications, more games, etc. BlackBerry ! when we will have?, BB 10 is good but there is still a lot avanze go ........
I would tell them to change the marketing team. Bring someone that actually knows how to penetrate the US market. In addition, I would also tell them to SPEND SOME CASH TO BRING KEY APPS to the platform. No more walkarounds!
Posted via CB10
Investors should understand smartphone is a risky business and bringing out a new platform would take time. I hope to see investors giving them more time but also encourage BlackBerry to bring out whatever they have in their research lab and road map as quickly as they can. A small loss initially could be paid off big at the end. And I hope the management should just focus on encouraging innovations and executions instead of anything else.
Posted via CB10
I think there will be plenty of grilling on that fateful day...
Posted via CB10
Bring on devices for kids like Ipod touch to get the next generation hooked and get them into BlackBerry first.
Posted via CB10
Agree. But then they have the app gap. BB 10 app dev tools leaped and almost filled the gap, then they went back to sleep. Now the gap is widening again.
Blackberry needs to put out a phone people want, if you don't have all the apps, put out an amazing camera and screen to make up for it. Give it something nobody else has or at least be the best on the market for a few months at least. I was disappointed with the Z10 as camera is just average joe blow and screen could have been better.
If you can't get a cheapie phone for the third world where you can make money then forget that market, you will not compete there anymore. Let it go.
Become a premium phone and services company and market it effectively. Go to the public, tell them your plans in some cool ads, highlight the value of the phone. Current ads blow.
If Blackberry can't do the phone bit by September without going into the cash substantially and diluting whatever share value they have then break the company up and become a services company only. That probably is the only way out in the long run.
A shareholder.
"Become a premium phone and services company and market it effectively. " + million - another share holder.
Why show up at the meeting, because we can not believe anything that is said. They have mislead us or lied directly to us. I do not believe that they can not do something about the Playbook. Why not send out updates direct to us since the carriers don't seem to care about BB. The carriers if really are in control of the updates are not loyal to BB; so BB should not continue to be loyal to them. Demand at the meeting that they release 10.2 OTA to everyone at the same time all around the world. Fire marketing team and make Heins to be held accountable for his comments.
BlackBerry can't get on the carriers bad side. If they do, who will sell BlackBerry phones?
Unfortunately BlackBerry doesn't have Apple's clout to demand updates when they release it. I'm pretty sure Apple's testing cycle is much shorter than BlackBerry with the carriers.
Posted via CB10
"lets wait a quarter or two" and "time wasn't built a day" how much longer are we going to have to listen to these quotes? People buying stock in the past few days, how could you possibly of thought that price would go up. Delusional
Okay. They under performed. Get over it. Don't throw everyone under the bus. Z10 is a pretty decent product. QNX will take them to level the rest cannot achieve. The markets only knows numbers and doesn't care about product. A goal of excellence and attention to detail is an admirable goal. When people see and grow to appreciate their effort they will come. They will come in droves and they won't know why. This is our Field of Dreams. Keep the faith.
Can I send a box of rotten tomatoes for someone to throw at the CEO re BB10 for Playbook.. I can't make it so I'll pay someone to do this...
never again Blackberry
Also vote against name changing because they just further tainted the BlackBerry brand. Better to use less tainted RIM. And they may have to start over and roll out a product line that is not called BlackBerry. It is really unfortunate.
I intend on being there and raising my voice. Poor Kevin. I hope he brings his ear protectors. I will be quite vocal to BlackBerry. I'm upset at the marketing and the gall to introduce another bb7 product. If bb10 is the future why go backwards. What the hell are we telling consumers. And also what kind of lame ass tour do they have missing so many major cities. Yep. If you're going to be there. You might wanna steer clear when I start yelling :)
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BB10 devices are $500 - $700 devices.
BB7 can be picked up for $150.
There are an awful lot of people who don't have that kind of money for a BB10 phone, but can use and want budget phone which is where BB7 comes in, especially in no contract developing nationsm
The Q5 can't compete against cheap Android phones, but BB7 can.
If something were to happen to my Q10, I'd be on Kijiji looking for a cheap BB7 phone due to cost. I'd miss BB10's apps, but as a messaging device, BB7 is still a fantastic tool.
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Go get em tiger,I think there is going to be a fall guy,and,that would be Frank Boulben.
I am going and to voice my request to hold those who made lazy man's bugs in products and those who made marketing mistakes accountable. This company has been lacking accountability since BB 950 days. It is now the time to injecting accountability into RIM.
I will show up and kick some ass.
Can anyone lend me a few hundred for a plane ticket? Today's plunge set me back a tad. FFS!
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I'D say " why are you sitting on 3 billion dollars when your marketing is apparently not working too well. Is this to make an acquisition by someone more attractive? "
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Shit's gonna get real. They better bring a change of underwear for after shareholders are done with them.
The new os7 device is a sign that BlackBerry doesn't believe people are buying into bb10. It will be a 9900 type device probably priced at 650 off contract knowing these guys.
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BlackBerry 10 devices should have been sold $50-$100 less then they were. Price attracts more customers. BBRY needs to get over their "Premium" complex and price down their units and make some sales.
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NO !!! Rather RIM must keep the price tags high but beef up the QUALITY. RIM/Canada doesn't have the cloud to bully cheap Chinese labors to crank out phones. So no room going down, the only direction is going up. The quality of Z10 and Q10 don't match the price. If proper corporate governance is in place, quality will go up without any cost.
BlackBerry 10 is an LTE device not all countries are running LTE.
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Ask for an explanation on why they couldn't port BB10 to the PlayBook! I need closure! Let's have someone explain this!
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main reason PB only has 1 GB. Need at least 2 GB of memory to run it smoothly.
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Come on...don't believe this f*** bullshit. A requirement of 2GB means a lame duck OS...totally inefficient, just look at the competitors
You can run with 1GB - but you can forget about multitasking.
I have a 1,5 years old Nokia N9 which can run 10-20 applications running at the same time! (With 1GHz and 1 GB memory)
Your argument fails and it seems peole on this forum have technically no clues!
Why a new os 7 device just now? Many people have been waiting BB10 and dumping blackberry because the delay. A new os 7 device should have appeared in that time.
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I think this one will be interesting to see. I remember the air around this event (and this period of time in general) last year was very tense. BlackBerry was burning cash, subscribers, and was facing intense pressure to change its strategy, whether that be put itself up for sale, license the then-unreleased BlackBerry 10 OS, or just scrap the entire project and become a services-only company.
The only difference then was that they still had an ace up their sleeve-BlackBerry 10. This year, the ace has been played and the picture is beginning to look the same.
I had hoped that by this time the launch of BB10 would begin to turn things around, and I'm optimistic that it still will. However, the marketing team needs a revamp as I still feel a disconnect between consumers and BlackBerry's message. In addition to that, I would love to hear about how BlackBerry plans to be more aggressive in its approaches to its hardware and software portfolio. Until now, the company has been very conservative in both aspects, however, as we're seeing, this isn't enough. We know the amazing potential for BlackBerry 10 is present, what I want to know is how and when the company finally begins to be more radical in their approach. In addition to that, just like Apple is now facing, how will BlackBerry up its hardware specs to match those of competing companies like Samsung and HTC.
BlackBerry needs to move even faster now sales have already begun to wane. It needs to rely more on its all-touch devices as that's where the company will have its biggest margin to grow, but it's also where it needs every edge it can get.
WHO FN CARES about their stupid meeting. Not I anymore. F Heins!
Where's my FULL BRIDGE Mr. Heins? Please return it!
BlackBerry drops Alicia Keys as brand manager and hires the west-kardashian family
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Bad Boy Beiber is all they need,hell at this time in time, he could probably buy the company.
Forget beiber get gaga. :). Let's get Gaga over BlackBerry. That's works better than let's all belieber on BlackBerry. Oh sigh. Marketing is key. And they failed there
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chech this out http://youtu.be/DGIgXP9SvB8 at 4:07 imagine an A10 in the briefcase.Now that's what I'm talking about!!Enjoy ,skip the ad of course
What about Drake. He's Canadian and he uses no other phone but BlackBerry.
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+1
Should go with full crew of Jersey Shore, mainly Snooki, I heard it's the hippest thing happening right now.
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+1 . We need Kris Jenner!
Bring back the founders!
The founders are the reason why blackberry are in this mess. Since the iPhone came out blackberry went quiet and disappeared when they were the top phone.
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I agree 100%
Guy in the middle is praying?
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Looks more like he's deciding the most painful way to have someone killed.
wonder if anyone will mention the bb10 to playbook scam? ( sic)
I would tell him to stop making the rolling launches and to make damn sure that they come out with there next device being substantially better than the S4 or prepare to be out of business. Stop playing the bullshiz game of hey our phones are almost as good as yours. Beef them up so when they are on the display that on PAPER customers can see that it out preforms the competition.
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+ millions
Mark it everyone !!
I have a feeling someone will purchased over 10% of this company very soon. Once they have done this then filed the documents with the SEC, you can bet your bottom dollar this company will not look the same in 3-6 months. All it takes is an activist and he can get his hands on 3.1 Billion cash and Billions of assets simply by taking an active roll. When the market cap gets this low...it's a fire sale for the vultures to come in.
Shareholders please try stay cool...the money in the bank and the assets are OURS!... This board better hope to hell they have some big things cooking to move the shares up. At this price sub 10 dollars...they can be replaced by an activist in a heartbeat.
Playbook fiasco... missed sales numbers, delays...sorry boys and girls...this baby is ripe for a fire sale.
I have lost all patience with BBRY board and marketing team. Even Crackberry team does a better job then the actual company.
Enough is enough ....bring in the big boys...time to shake up this company.
Eh, not entirely accurate ;-)
I have done a 3 week test with the Z10 vs iP5 and Z10 is a great phone , Hub , navigation of the phone, keyboard the iP5 is clunky. The marketing team needs work
Looking forward CrackBerry's AGM coverage.
Please just go private already...
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There goes my hopes of getting premium apps on board with BlackBerry after this news! I guess BlackBerry will offer android or Microsoft devices with extra security in the backend?
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They need to overhaul their marketing staff period!
The zed is great! like when Aapl showed their ios7 I realized we are two steps ahead of the platform but they are 5 steps ahead of the advertisement.
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More commercials like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJwjq2TeLsY&sns=em
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Hope you're kidding...
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+1 please be joking
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Bit Message like PIN to PIN : https://bitmessage.org/wiki/Main_Page
Bit Message Forum : https://bitmessage.org/forum/index.php?topic=1600.0
Blackberry should have a PIN2PIN forum after this earnings report
Ooooo is this a caption competition? My entry would be something like "yeah dude we'd all better start with the praying. Praying that no Playbook owners turn up that is!"
Where can you find any information on this? I'm a shareholder and haven't received anything, and I searched online and couldn't find anything. Couldn't even find anything on their company website.
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It's certainly tricky. The source link is our forums, who found it here.
Thanks Simon!
I hold shares. I received my documentations thru HSBC. The company I bought them thru. Fedexed to me. :).
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I don't understand the reasoning behing announcing the PlayBook will not be receiving an upgrade to BB10 during today's earnings call. That just compounds the bad news. Unless BlackBerry is deliberately driving down the share price to take it private. With the huge amound of cash they have they could probably buy back all the shares outstanding if the price is low enough. Then they wouldn't have to answer to anyone. Make any deal / merger they want without being scrutinized by shareholders.
I think they just wanted to lump together all the negative news in one day. Else it'll look like a constant stream of disappointments one after another. This way, it's just one bad patch and the company can move on.
Exactly correct here! Get all the bad news out and start reporting a stream of positives. Rome was not built over night.
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Then, the first good news I expect is radical and positive changes on corporate governance - From both top down and bottom up.
Well great they got it all out. I can concur with the strategy. However, they better have some huge positive announcements because this supporter at the moment is pissed and done with BlackBerry. Yes I am Canadian, and yes I am done!
Where's my FULL BRIDGE Mr. Heins? Please return it!
I certainly hope all the bad new is out now and BlackBerry has turned a corner. The momentum needs to swing upwards and it's only up from here.
+100
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Thanks for reminding about this possibility. Then, individual share holders must be careful with this and do not approve.
Where is redesign, re imaging, re invented. Nothing happens?
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In the past the AGMs have not been limited to just shareholders.
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This is going to be tricky...
Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Q10
I hope it goes well
There'll be some 'esplainin' to do.
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Is the AGM only for shareholders? A friend of mine would like to go but he isn't a shareholder (I'm a shareholder).
thanks
Shareholders only according to the document I received.
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Either a shareholder or u need to know a shareholder who is willing to nominate u as proxy to attend on his/her behalf.
Posted via CB10 from BB Z10
I WAS a shareholder and true believer...there should be a class action lawsuit against Thorsten Heins
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I think we have to go over everything he has said in the past with a fine tooth comb.One thing he said that really stands out ,was,TENS of millions of BB10's will have sold.Was that statement misleading?A CEO can not do that ,and get away with it.
he can, apparently
I think that comment reflects to the fiscal year not for a quarter.
That statement is for Q10 along. Even it is for full fiscal year they cannot sell more than 20 millions of Q10. Therefore that is a false and misleading statement. As a result, a law suite against him is legit and will win.
Fiscal year hasn't ended, q10 wasn't in this quarter anyways.
yeah guys come on... We didn't sell millions of q 10's in a week lets sue them ahahahhahahaha.... go sue apple for giving your info to PRISIM and ebook fixing!!!! where do you even come from?
Class action lawsuit for what, bb10 has been out less then 5 months, cry me a river fuck. I'm a shareholder now to and still think it's only beginning, wait till the z10, q10, and g5 are available everywhere. That's when the numbers will matter.
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It has been 5 month and Z10 is still not everywhere. This is exact the problem the CEO created. He should go.
yeah exactly clearly no common sense... i havent seen a z10 anywhere.. lets close BB haha..duhhh
Could be a slepper,just kidding, but who knows?I think he was hand picked for a reason,there will probably be more cuts at BB,,I don't think Mike had the heart to make some tough decisions. he made billions with RIM and treated everyone great,some might say ,the company, was, heaven on earth.Just the statement,about the playbook,shows me their resources are better focused on new and exciting products.Really how many playbooks have been sold?All in all you have to admit ,he's no Steve Jobs.BB seems to be a stock for the rich people out their that can park some money and wait .I am long BB, and I want to be placed in my coffin with my stocks in my hands because when I croak it will probably be BB's fault.You know what they say , BB stock is not for the faint of heart!!
+ 2 million
As a shareholder, I'd ask for a 3 year plan with milestones and realistic expectations. It's not the performance I'm concerned about most, but the disappointment, and the celebrating of 'adjusted' expectations.
I have full confidence in the executive team, just I don't see a lot of comparing with the original plan, as though it never existed.
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and what exactly their 3-year plan with milestones give you?
Haven't they outlined it before promissing OS10 on Playbooks? And now we get ti=o run around with their promisses...
These events are usually pretty tame. It's the Canadian way of doing business.
If I have my say they may boot me out :( I can get pretty loud and vocal. Sigh. When the city of waterloo was introducing licences for student rentals I was so vocal and filled with facts that council had to basically ask that I either shut up or leave. I kept speaking because I don't listen to beuarocrats. Hahah. When I finished the public applauded me. So yeah. If I get an opportunity imma raise hell! :). Bad marketing. Why another bb7. Just wrong!
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Do you own any shares?
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Can't imagine how tense that meeting will be. Many share holders will be calling for the heads of some execs. And of course the selling off Blackberry talk will surface once again. Good luck to Thorstein and Co... They'll need it!!
After today’s earning report debacle, I am left asking what role BlacKBerry marketing plays in the messaging component of an earnings call? Are they there to make sure that what the CEO says won’t compromise the marketing effort? Is the messaging measured and adjusted against the global goals to grow the product offering? Is the branding image considered, is the value on OS 10 considered? Is scripting provided/suggested to stay on point in a way that the message does not negatively impact the stock value? I alluded to much of this in my other post today:
BlackBerry Stock Down 30%
http://pfcsystems.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/blackberry-stock-down-30/
Being on point at an earnings call and in line with marketing is critical to minimize negative impact on a stock. The messaging today should have been:
The premium OS is OS 10, but we need to put out OS7 devices for emerging markets to help with our global sales numbers around the world, as we ramp up our efforts in the USA.
Instead, the PlayBook has become an issue and surrounding this the value that the executives are placing on OS10. There are enough PlayBooks out there to use in a marketing effort by updating to OS10–some version of it. I want to know what is really going on here?
My take:
As for the PlayBook either don’t mention it or leave developing the OS further/porting BB10 to it an option or explain why it is not an option, at this point. Personally, I don’t buy into not having enough RAM for BB10, as I run OS10.0.10.648 full on on my Dev Alpha A with 1GB of RAM and similar specs to the legacy PlayBook. It is, even if limited as some claim in a very subjective way, a better experience for me than the PlayBook OS 2.x.]
I paid $399 for the 32GB back in the day when no one in the USA had a clue, believing/evangelizing on the OS 10 to come. Do they,BBRY, have a deal with SONY or the like to stay out of the tablet space for licensing the OS10? What is really going on? I believe that HP got in trouble with Microsoft when their tablet debacle occurred. It is time for transparency and to hold the BlackBerry executives accountable for the blood letting of the stock today! I lost $3-4 per share today–awful! Thousands of dollars,but I am long on BBRY and the stock market is a gamble where you have to be ready to lose it all! I hope this won’t happen and that the BlackBerry/RIM board has a good chat with Thor and the others on what they say in public and the ramifications. I am not impressed on the execution of many of the marketing aspects of a product/image/brand–the approach has to be holistic! One only need look at what happened to HP while under Leo Apotheker and what appeared to be mixed messaging. BlackBerry is not HP, and cannot survive such errors in messaging.
http://wp.me/p381yl-AO
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Dude, that comment was way too long.
Lol
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I didn't even bother reading after scrolling through how far I had to go. Nobody got time for reading through that sh*t.
via CB10 (BB Z10 : BLK : OS 10.1) [ Follow me @EHZAY for BB News & Tech Updates ]
daaaannnng... I was scrolling through the page and there was this massive block of text, move it to the forums man
I love it when some people unknowingly admit to having short attention spans...lol.
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Well said. Messaging is off track. Part of it is the German Siemens background. Its good ti be truthful and good to get all the bad news out at one shot.
But doing all this in a quarterly earnings call is disaster.
The Venezuela stuff also seems fishy, no need to put it out when there's enough non-news.
Guess, top management needs a "Welcome to Wall Street" app. Oh yes. We still don't have a Bloomberg app that was there on bb6. Getting more apps doesn't mean leaving the ones we have.
However, this is only messaging work, and screw ups am still hopeful as the core product is good. Would be game over if there was no product either !!!!!
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I run a ported android bloomberg app. It makes me dizzy almost to read news on it. Miffed about the lack of bloomberg native app also.
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+1
Good points. As a shareholder I too have seen a tumble and loss but I bought them in 2003 and I'm in it for the long haul. BlackBerry marketing sucks but I'm not dissuaded by the current report. Actually impressed when digging deeper. So next 2 quarters will be the real story.
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Very thoughtfully written comment. I do hope that Thorsten Heins and Blackberry's management will take a note of your comment.
On the Playbook front, I would have provided a BB10 version for Playbook users with clear messaging that the performance may not scale as far as the user experience is concerned and I would have gone as far as allowing those Playbook users (if they choose to) to redeem their Playbook for say a Z10 - as a shareholder I don't mind Blackberry taking a charge on those Playbook devices - Blackberry has enough cash to accommodate this one time charge.
Any OS takes time to stabilize - IMO, by the calendar year end BB10 will be rock solid. What Blackberry needs to immediately work on is to simplify the UI experience by providing quick shortcuts to access the hub, frames and application dashboard (for users who are not experienced with or don't like the swipe experience to access the Hub).
http://wp.me/p381yl-AO
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KEVIN FOR CEO!
Or a consultant at least.
+10
+10000000
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+infinity
Why doesn't the keyboard have an infinity symbol?
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+ ∞
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Mind blown!
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- million. He is partly responsible for this as well. He should go as well.
What did Kevin do other than get sick for a few weeks? He's just a cheerleader... I've never heard of them getting blamed for a loss (well, depends on the outfit--I guess)
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What kind of an idiot are you ? Is Kevin a member of the board ?
how about an evangelist role within the BB fold. I am sure there will be something he can influence with the comments in this forums and taking it to share how to 'market' the products
Maybe the final one...
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How long have people been saying this now?
2 years, 3 years?
Almost 4, I think.
How many final ones has it been now?
Sent from my iPuh-lease-as-IF
Come on down to our eighth annual "going out of business" sale! Everything must go!
The entire Board should go. And then start on the 'C' suite. And then the managers of any engineering groups... and then the managers of any marketing groups.
Take a cue from Symnatec.... be fucking brutal with incompetent leaders who cannot execute well or adjust strategically to a shifting competitive landscape.
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+ 1 million
Could not have said it any better! If Blackberry is to survive, it needs to completely restructure and rethink it's strategies - one thing is certain, get rid of Heins and any of the other clowns that were left from the old management. Focus on OS 10 and marketing, not OS7.
Heins is good. You're forgetting that it takes time for the pendulum to swing back when it's been moving the other direction the last 2 years.
So those 6000 people they just let go, that was just not enough??
From my sweet BB10 Neutrino powered Z10 :D
The wise once said: "Extremis malis extrema remedia" I believe Blackberry should follow what Michael Dell tried to do the beginning of this year: offer a buyout and have de-listed its shares from public and take it in private. There's no need for hedge fund vultures to be involved in the company. I strongly believe BB will do great as a private company, and BB10 will have longevity and strong success in the future. Decision to axe BB Playbook is a good one since the chance to compete in tablet market is zero; the market for tablets is too saturated with iPad and Android devices, there's no way for BB to break into that space. It's time to concentrate and consolidate the strength of the company which is to make great business/corporate phones and corporate service through BES 10. There's an emerging market in "phablet" that BB can look into it and compete against Android devices which I believe BB can become the main contender in the Android sphere. I saw less and less people using tablet in public these days compare to few years back when iPad just came out; however, I saw more people own larger display phones and using them whilst they are on the move. I understand that the last sentence strictly came out from my opinion and observation, but I strongly believe that the notion of people going to use/purchase "phablet" more than tablet is going to happen in the next 3 to 5 years. As the world becomes more connected and people tends to be more mobile, there can only be one device that suit this environment; which is a "phablet" or a large display phone such as Z10 (big and powerful enough to do works but smaller enough to fit in your pocket). To me Z10 is an awesome device and can do exactly I need to do on my daily activity. Lack of apps doesn't deter me to purchase it since I know well that Z10 browser can compensate the lack of certain apps which I need on my daily life such as banking or public transport schedules, even to the extreme of Google maps. I strongly believe that BB should show this strength to the masses and compare it to other browsers and point it out what are strong points of BB 10 browser. In addition to that, continue to add features to the browser whilst keep courting the developers to develop native BB10 apps. Those are just few of my humble opinions which I would like to say to BB shares holders and executives in charged.
It is mabye allways the final one in our life.....we are only guest if people, electronic device or or...nothing is forever....adjos e viva la revolution