Here's some Friday fun. As forums member kjjb0204 spotted, Sprint looks to be cheating a little bit in one of their newest commercials. Seen here from the TV ad is a Motorola Admiral - however that's not Android on the screen. If you look closely you can see that the display is indeed showing a BlackBerry settings screen - oops!. Granted the average user probably wouldn't be able to spot the difference while watching the ad, but you're not fooling anyone here, Sprint! We've seen plenty of goofs like this in ads, posters and print over the years, but this could be the first one from a TV ad. Rest assured it most likely won't be the last time it happens either.
Reader comments
Hey Sprint - You've got the wrong screen
The commercial actually showed a android screen and not a BB screen. Go to Sprint's Youtube channel and you can see all of Sprint's commercials on there. You noticed that looks a little stretched considering the Motorola has a Bigger screen than the 9930.
Well caught. Does anyone have a link to the actual commercial online though?
Proudly a member of TeamBlackberry, and in it for the long haul.
Something does not seem to add up but unfortunately it is on this end, not Motorola's. Personally, I would like to see the commercial since people seem to be missing something obvious. You are looking at a zoom in on a bad Photoshop job on a still image of something that was actually a moving image in a video. Sorry, but that would suggest, someone took a screen capture from the ad and then modified it to show a BB display, rather than it actually having a BB display in the actual ad. Not to be too cynical, but this seems a lot more like a hoax on this end.
Wow the Motorola Admiral looks a lot like a BlackBerry, I think RIM could sue Motorola for making a phone that looks like a BlackBerry like Apple did with Samsung. lol
RIM --- Sue their a$$es!
Not a bad overall look. If this is what the bb10 keyboard versions looks like, but "berryized", I'm so in!
A serious What The...for all those viewers that even remotely had to double take on that keyboard - you are clearly not true Crack Berry addicts! I said it!
Million dollar question is why did the person took efforts to put BB Settings screen on a motorola? It would be much simpler to just take a pic of moto directly without the efforts to photoshop screen menu of another manufacturer....
Was it deliberately done to get publicity on sites like Crackberry?
I think it was done on purpose.
Why do something like this?
Simple, it's plastered all over Crackberry, and we're all talking about it! Marketing that works ;)
Really like who cares!
You have to admit, our settings screen does look better made for commercials and more organized than Android. :)
...I've used Androind...and iOS for that matter...anything BB is more organized...and just..'smarter' than either of the other guys..
BlackBerry Torch 9860 BBOS 7.1
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.xx.xxxx
BlackBerry PlayBook LTE OS 2.xx.xxxx
Aside from OS, which is different, many android hardwares are near copies of the competition, from what I see so far (eg. Samsung and Moto...and HTC too, though I haven't paid nearly as much attention to that company).
And RIM is too nice not to bring Moto to court on this. It looks too similar to BB.
~I am BlackBerry by choice~
This is hilarious. Let's not get too bent out of shape. People make mistakes and people get sacked and law suits happen and ends up in court because of patent infringement then a US jury will go in favour of Motorola and ... wait. was that a run on sentence?
NICE Catched Adam..
It's definitely a Motorola Admiral, still available on Sprint. I had the sister model Droid Pro on Verizon for 6 months and the keyboard may look like a berry, but functions nothing like it. Really the worst phone keyboard I've ever used. Not to mention Moto put the numbers across the top row instead of in a phone-style bb placement. Really lousy phone. I can only assume the Admiral was just as lousy as the Droid Pro.
I'd like to see RIM counsel jump on this.
* BlackBerry by choice *
Why would Sprint spend the extra $ to Photoshop the screen of BB7 onto an Android device? It makes no sense. But as stated, that's exactly what it is.
If they are anything like our organization, most people cannot afford to just run out and get the latest and greatest, and the red-tape involved in getting demo products is such a pain, no one even bothers. Easier (and apparently more importantly, cheaper) to just use stock photography & hope no one notices. Example: do you REALLY think all those smiling faces of customer support agents on various websites are ACTUAL employees?? ;)
.....and that's assuming they actually DO their own ads! outsourcing is everywhere!
The numbers across the top - who came up with that should be sacked!!! :)
I haven't seen the ad, but it could be one of those fake phones that are just for exhibition at stores and has the screencapture printed on top of the "screen"
what about the light reflection on the hands.
and also I cant dont know how to explain this
but you can see like when a screen of a phone, tv is filmed it gets grainy sort of...??/
maybe thats just a print screen from a BB device?
with photoshop you can do almost anything to make it look the way you want and they must have just place a BB screen on top and left the light and shadows the way they were
everybody wants to be a berry but not want to have a berry
Brings new meaning to Android emulator
I dont care what you say about the screen BUT THAT IS A KEYBOARD STRAIGHT FROM RIM! You cant tell me its not!
If its not then Rim should be taking moto..erm Google to court.
Edit* Okay i checked out this phone its indeed an older motorola phone and good lord if thats not a BlackBerry keyboard rip off then idk what is.
I agree. When I first saw the picture without reading the note I thought it was a Curve or even a Bold. The lower part of the keyboard also reminded me of my dear old Pearl
No the keyboard is quite different. While the BB keyboard appears to curve upwards,each row starts even.
In addition the special characters are wrong. BB has the numbers laid out like a phone but this device doesn't - they're across the top.
...that may be, but what comes to mind when you see that keyboard (and really almost all the 'keyboard clones'a few years back)..not a Motorola...but a BlackBerry...they just made some subtle changes (as you pointed out) to avoid a lawsuit possibly...
BlackBerry Torch 9860 BBOS 7.1
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.xx.xxxx
BlackBerry PlayBook LTE OS 2.xx.xxx
Is that the new qwerty bb10 device? It has that taller screen and is lacking a trackpad like we have heard
No, that's a Motorola Admiral.
I mean why would they need to photoshop a picture like that?
Can't they simply take a picture of someone using the phone? It's even easier!
It doesn't make sense... unless they licensed BB7 to motorolla! Who knows?
Ill tell you exactly why Sprint deliberately did this. This specific phone along with the previous droid pro were made to move people away from their blackberries and have them switch to Android while having a similiar keyboard. When someone who has used Blackberry sees this add, they will also see the screen along with their keyboard and then say, "Well maybe ill give it a chance." The reality is, its nothing like they have experienced(and I mean that in a bad way). I've been a victim of jumping ship and trying the Droid Pro only to be dissapointed and go back to BB. Case solved. Marketing deception.
What If :
RIM licenced BB7 to Moto
...doesn't look or feel right :) #caseclosed
maybe this is the new bb10?
A BB look a like.
I think it looks a little too much like a BB.
Tim
...better follow Apples lead as sue their asses off...
BlackBerry Torch 9860 BBOS 7.1
BlackBerry PlayBook O/S 2.xx.xxxx
BlackBerry PlayBook LTE 2.xx.xxxx
Actually isn't the keyboard identical to that of a blackberry?
Other than the numbers going across the top row, it's pretty darn identical