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BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

venturebeat.com

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Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#11

Post by maxsilver »

budhajeewa wrote: post #7

Just kill it in entirety already and move on to new things. Neither Android nor Apple is going to die in the forseeable future, so a BlackBerry operating system doesn't stand a chance.

> Just kill it in entirety already (snip) a BlackBerry operating system doesn't stand a chance.

They did that already. BlackBerry's last two phones were 100% pure Android devices, with full access to Play Store apps, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, etc, just like every other major Android phone has.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#12

Post by PhantomGremlin »

whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

The BB's keyboards are still unmatched.

Yeah, but does that really matter any more? I've found that my iPhone's speech-to-text is pretty darned good, as long as I speak with a slightly staccato cadence to make it clear where the word divisions are. I can do that much more quickly than I can type. Generally I only have problems when the connection to the server doing the conversion is poor.

I've never used Android's speech-to-text, but I have to assume it is equivalent. Can an experienced BB typist really outperform speech-to-text conversion?

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#13

Post by Cuuugi »

Cuuugi wrote: post #10
scj wrote: post #3

I have to admit that I've never used a BB, but isn't their brand identity around the keypads on their phones? Or do they have an amazing piece of software that I'm missing out on?

IIRC their big money maker is the Blackberry Enterprise Server, or BES. I'm not up to date on the feature's so don't quote me on it. It used to partition my phone so i had a Work/Personal work space (so that work could wipe my work related info) They pivoted to a multiplatform system back when things started to look grim for Blackberry, and that's probably whats kept them afloat. It's massively overpriced for what it…

Oh, Yeah! To add on to my point, Blackberry released their private keys to the RCMP, so all BBM traffic could be decrypted. They didn't release the BES keys though because feature?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/rcmp-blackberry-hack-montr...

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#14

Post by bobajeff »

whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

By any chance have you ever used any feature like Swype or Speech to Text?

I see many older folks still use it like those 2-ways of yesteryear. Unsurprisingly they aren't too comfortable responding via text.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#15

Post by maxsilver »

whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

> I don't get why the CEO didn't do this as the first thing when he started his Android strategy.

I don't think Chen understands device strategy, or cares much for it. Because every BB user has been asking for the exact same thing you just mentioned -- for years -- and they still haven't done it.

It'll never beat Apple or Samsung in popularity. But if they just released a single solid high-end Android phone with a real BlackBerry keyboard every two years, that product line would quietly print free money forever. It's a niche product, but a fairly large niche.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#16

Post by 51Cards »

maxsilver wrote: post #8

For what it's worth, the BlackBerry Priv is hands-down my favorite Android phone I've ever owned. It's a great product that deserved more success than it received.

Friend of mine just bought one a couple weeks ago and has been thrilled with it. I may take a look at one myself.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#17

Post by dan1234 »

maxsilver wrote: post #11
budhajeewa wrote: post #7

Just kill it in entirety already and move on to new things. Neither Android nor Apple is going to die in the forseeable future, so a BlackBerry operating system doesn't stand a chance.

> Just kill it in entirety already (snip) a BlackBerry operating system doesn't stand a chance. They did that already. BlackBerry's last two phones were 100% pure Android devices, with full access to Play Store apps, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, etc, just like every other major Android phone has.

If they're not making BBOS and they're not designing new hardware, what are they doing now? Are they now just app developers?

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#18

Post by whitecarpet »

PhantomGremlin wrote: post #12
whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. Yeah, but does that really matter any more? I've found that my iPhone's speech-to-text is pretty darned good, as long as I speak with a slightly staccato cadence to make it clear where the word divisions are. I can do that much more quickly than I can type. Generally I only have problems when the connection to the server doing the conversion is poor. I've never used Android's s…

There is more than just creating text. The BB keyboard is also essential part of the UI, you trigger stuff through the keyboard all the time (think of VIM or terminal based apps).

Even if just talk about text creation which involves editing. Speech-to-text is impressive but once you start to edit your text you need a keyboard and perfect cursor control.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#19

Post by whitecarpet »

maxsilver wrote: post #15
whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

> I don't get why the CEO didn't do this as the first thing when he started his Android strategy. I don't think Chen understands device strategy, or cares much for it. Because every BB user has been asking for the exact same thing you just mentioned -- for years -- and they still haven't done it. It'll never beat Apple or Samsung in popularity. But if they just released a single solid high-end Android phone with a re…

> Because every BB user has been asking for the exact same thing you just mentioned -- for years -- and they still haven't done it.

Yes, that's true and so sad.

I would immediately pay $1,000 for a BB Classic running Android unseen.

Re: BlackBerry confirms it will end in-house hardware development

#20

Post by nathcd »

maxsilver wrote: post #15
whitecarpet wrote: post #9

I've been never more productive with my smartphones than with a Blackberry. The BB's keyboards are still unmatched. While I can type as fast with my iPhone 7 where cursor control is thanks to 3D touch great a BB Classic is still better—reasons why: - You can rest your fingers on the keyboard like on a real keyboard without pressing the keys (you can't do that on a touch screen) - After a short time you start to touch…

> I don't get why the CEO didn't do this as the first thing when he started his Android strategy. I don't think Chen understands device strategy, or cares much for it. Because every BB user has been asking for the exact same thing you just mentioned -- for years -- and they still haven't done it. It'll never beat Apple or Samsung in popularity. But if they just released a single solid high-end Android phone with a re…

Exactly. Since Termux[1][2] I've been pining for just this. Add a removable battery back in and I'd pay lots of money for this. The long rumored Blackberry Rome/Mercury seemed to be something like this [3] (minus the removable battery), and I think was expected in Q1 2017 or so.

[1] https://termux.com/

[2] https://github.com/termux

[3] http://www.slashgear.com/blackberry-mercury-rome-renderings-...

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