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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

#101

Post by oldmanjay »

AlwaysRock wrote: post #21

BlackBerry's keyboard is its killer app. I still cant type on my touchscreen without looking. When I was 14 I was able to have a conversation via text under the table while eating dinner with my family thanks to my old keyboard phone. If a android phone was released with a keyboard I think it could carve out a profitable chunk of the market.

There have been many failed attempts at exactly that. Those who want a keyboard are vocal about the ostensible size of the market but don't seem to spend enough money to support the claim.

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

#102

Post by [deleted] »

eumenides1 wrote: post #94

BB's strong suit isn't software or hardware. It's semi-competent at both. BBM is amazing and BB10 OS is pretty amazing (name a phone that can multi-task now, i.e. play youtube and write an email). But it also has lots of stinkers. The keyboard is pretty rocking, devices can take a beating, but BB has various hardware issues. Battery pulling to solve problems etc. Now that they are going android, nobody knew that the…

[deleted]

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

#103

Post by Rhod3s »

camelNotation wrote: post #35

There is a growing market for "dumb phones" among those of us that are disillusioned with the smartphone lifestyle. It's not enormous, but it's out there. Blackberry needs to target them. If you buy a dumb phone, you not only give up the life-sucking abyss of social media and mobile gaming, but you also give up decent cameras and useful tools like navigation, group messages, and keyboard typing. For those that want t…

Use a Windows Phone.

It's almost everything that you are looking for, except for the physical keyboard. The Lumia line has some pretty good phones and you get all the basics of a modern smartphone (good cameras, email, browser, GPS, etc.) but the app store doesn't have a lot of apps to distract you.

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

#104

Post by hobbes78 »

eumenides1 wrote: post #94

BB's strong suit isn't software or hardware. It's semi-competent at both. BBM is amazing and BB10 OS is pretty amazing (name a phone that can multi-task now, i.e. play youtube and write an email). But it also has lots of stinkers. The keyboard is pretty rocking, devices can take a beating, but BB has various hardware issues. Battery pulling to solve problems etc. Now that they are going android, nobody knew that the…

Even my cheap Android phone allows writing an email whilst watching a YouTube video:

http://imgur.com/a/s9MpE

It's a Galaxy A5 (2016) and it's a fraction of the price of a Galaxy S7 or iPhone 7...

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

#105

Post by protomyth »

I was pretty excited about the concept[1] (maybe not the exact execution[2]) of the keyboard on the Passport. It seems like there was still a place for BlackBerry but the chasing Apple doomed them[3].

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNVT95S6_eE

2) I would have preferred more keys

3) from the book https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Signal-Extraordinary-Spectacul...

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

#106

Post by pwthornton »

bdavisx wrote: post #99
pwthornton wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You guys are forgetting another reason that Blackberry cratered: People didn't want to carry two devices. Even if a Blackberry meets your email needs, if its bad for everything else you want to do professionally and personally (apps, websites, music, audio books, etc.), it's not going to be enough. Business execs wanted to carry one device all day long, and Blackberry didn't offer enough to be an all day device. You…

Sorry, I should have been more specific, I meant a BB quality keyboard on an Android device. Completely agree with you on two devices.

I agree that BB should have come out with a high quality stock Android phone years ago. They went down that whole QNX route, and by then it was already too late.

They've always made very competitive hardware.

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

#107

Post by mst »

whitecarpet wrote: post #19
maxsilver wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I quite possibly would as well, though you've now got me sulking about there never being a proper successor to my beloved N900.

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

#108

Post by Zigurd »

camelNotation wrote: post #35

There is a growing market for "dumb phones" among those of us that are disillusioned with the smartphone lifestyle. It's not enormous, but it's out there. Blackberry needs to target them. If you buy a dumb phone, you not only give up the life-sucking abyss of social media and mobile gaming, but you also give up decent cameras and useful tools like navigation, group messages, and keyboard typing. For those that want t…

There are millions, maybe hundreds of millions of feature phones of every type out there that you can get for pennies, used, in fine condition. Many times more than there are buyers for those phones. There is no reason to make a new feature phone for the developed world market. I have a shoebox full of them.

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

#109

Post by disordinary »

pwthornton wrote: post #106
bdavisx wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I should have been more specific, I meant a BB quality keyboard on an Android device. Completely agree with you on two devices.

I agree that BB should have come out with a high quality stock Android phone years ago. They went down that whole QNX route, and by then it was already too late. They've always made very competitive hardware.

I don't know, we had a dead blackberry drawer at work - they kept dying on us. The phones were expensive, underpowered, and pretty plasticky.

But the hardware keyboards were great, as was the consistency of the interface that it allowed, something which Android and iOS need to learn about.

I also think that QNX/BB10 was a great platform. Probably the best mobile OS at the time of its release.

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

#110

Post by disordinary »

ndesaulniers wrote: post #79
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…

> After a short time you start to touch type; although it's possible with an iPhone too On my Android phone, I've even begun "touch swiping," using swipe gestures without looking while leaning heavily on the autocompleter.

And posting random giberish more often than not if you're like me.
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