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BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

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Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#81

Post by corresation »

skylan_q wrote: post #73
kunai wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? The problem isn't with the phones. The Z10 and Q10 are fantastic and BB10 is probably the best business-centric OS ever written. The problem is that the applications are just not there, and that people associate BlackBerry with reboots, battery pulls, and outdated, clunky software, even though that's not the case. It's an image problem, not a phone problem. They can't market like Apple used to. If they could, th…

It doesn't matter if their flagship phone that's out today is better than any mobile device that comes out in the next ten years. The customer has a grudge against them and decided they're losers. I could only image how much people would be for cancer if BB came out with a cure.

Or maybe it just isn't better? Or maybe it isn't better enough for people to endure the complete lack of platform ecosystem.

Ecosystem is everything. Android overcame that (remember when few of the top tier apps or services like Netflix were available on Android?) largely via the pull of Google services, getting enough inertia that the apps came. Blackberry...it wasn't and isn't going to happen. It just isn't worth it for makers.

Blackberry can't just make a device that is as good as the competitors, it has to be significantly better. They didn't do that.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#83

Post by [deleted] »

thedrbrian wrote: post #46
GrinningFool wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an interesting kneejerk response that one hears variations of whenever anybody brings up any smartphone OS that is not their One True OS. Do you have particular things that it doesn't do that iOS of six years ago did?

Who cares? If bb want me to shell out 600 quid now their product has to compete with the phones of now not the ones from six years ago.

[deleted]

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#84

Post by rocky1138 »

Touche wrote: post #55
ChuckMcM wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are always more easily seen looking from the future into the past, than they are in the past looking to the future. Few companies, with the market share RIM had, see threats as 'near term'. Fewer still have a deep appreciation for the entirety of the technology stack and the time it takes to move things. This is especially true of young executives but can happen to anyone. RIM's technology stack matured over ma…

nit, but Ballmer did not dismiss the iPhone, he dismissed the $500 on contract iPhone. And he even said "it may sell very well". Here's the actual video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U I know it's become fun to pretend like Ballmer dismissed the iPhone but I have a hard time watching that video and seeing anything like that.

Remember when they held a public funeral for the iPhone?

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#86

Post by Asterick6 »

rorrr2 wrote: post #78
martythemaniak wrote: post #35

I've been thinking about RIM lately and I think they basically had chances to turn themselves around, but took neither. The first was in '08/'09 - shortly after the iPhone. Some companies (Google, Samsung) saw where the industry was going, made the appropriate decisions and are now profiting handsomely. In hindsight, that was the right time for RIM to acquire QNX and start on BB10, which might have done very well had…

They still have their chances with Android. All they have to do is make the best damn Android devices. Considering they have money, they can do it. Other than that, nothing short of miraculous futuretech invention-acquisition will save them.

This is an empty, useless comment full of hot air, and using swear words does nothing to support the poor assumptions and reasoning that you made.

The "best" devices will never sell without marketing. And if RIM does move to Android, that signals that they gave up and tried to stave off their decline/death by exploiting the Android market. Not to mention that with the competition, RIM has even less of a chance.

I recommend thinking of a unique comment/argument that doesn't repeat what is already said. If you cannot think of one, then please don't post a useless comment that turns this into a Reddit thread.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#87

Post by ChuckMcM »

levosmetalo wrote: post #68
ChuckMcM wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a fair point. Microsoft's behavior however, with regard to "supporting" the iPhone as a new way to do business, was tepid at best.

Why would Microsoft have to "support" the iPhone way back then? I'm pretty sure they would have supported it if they had ready iPhone competitor back in the days, but given that they didn't have it, the only logical thing to do about it is to ignore it and silently working on catch up, which is exactly what they did.

At the time Microsoft was the single largest supplier of IT software to enterprises. Part of the appeal of Blackberry phones was they integrated well with the systems used in the enterprise.

In that environment, if Microsoft starts supporting iPhone like they support Blackberry (Exchange integration, a sharepoint app, what have you) then it is a strong signal that Microsoft has looked at the iPhone, and what it represents, and has decided its going to be a 'big deal' in the Enterprise space going forward.

It's an imperfect signal to be sure, but often treated like an 'outside opinion.' Using an example from my own history, I was trying to get NetApp to build a filer on the Opteron hardware and the lead marketing guy wouldn't believe the AMD64 stuff was "real" until Dell started shipping a server using it. That was a tool he was using to validate (or invalidate) my argument that AMD64 was the future of the x86 architecture.

So RIM, seeing Microsoft's response, might use that to "confirm" an internal opinion that the iPhone (and perhaps smart phones in general) wasn't a serious threat.

I of course have no way of knowing one way or the other, but I've seen it happen that way, and the hypothesis fits the actions as we know them today. I presume they could have started/done the BB10 "anytime" but only started once they had collectively internalized the threat to their market. So by that reasoning I speculate they didn't believe it to be a threat until much later.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#88

Post by riggins »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #47
martythemaniak wrote: post #35

I've been thinking about RIM lately and I think they basically had chances to turn themselves around, but took neither. The first was in '08/'09 - shortly after the iPhone. Some companies (Google, Samsung) saw where the industry was going, made the appropriate decisions and are now profiting handsomely. In hindsight, that was the right time for RIM to acquire QNX and start on BB10, which might have done very well had…

These are always more easily seen looking from the future into the past, than they are in the past looking to the future. Few companies, with the market share RIM had, see threats as 'near term'. Fewer still have a deep appreciation for the entirety of the technology stack and the time it takes to move things. This is especially true of young executives but can happen to anyone. RIM's technology stack matured over ma…

In airplanes once you are behind the curve there is literally nothing you can do which will prevent you from eventually crashing. The same it true in companies.

I'm going to say the physics of aerodynamics is not a good analogy for business competition.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#89

Post by contextual »

maxsilver wrote: post #7

It's unfortunate, as someone who just purchased a Q10 (switched from Android), I think they've finally got their act together and released something excellent. The Q10's battery life is great, the hardware keyboard is solid and travels well. The Paratek antenna gets the best reception and data connection of any device I've ever used. The BB10 software isn't great, but it's decent. (It's certainly far better than wher…

Agreed. The Q10 is a great phone, and the OS is the best I've used on any smartphone (iphone, lumia). The touchscreen / physical keyboard combo is awesome and unique to BlackBerry. They have a winning product here.

I can't wait for the Z30. That should bring more people to the fold.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#90

Post by speeder »

Touche wrote: post #56
jusben1369 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I don't, however, sympathize with the company that made their decision to go it alone despite overwhelming evidence that there isn't room for another platform." - I'm confused. They were THE leading mobile platform. So they didn't decide to enter a crowded market. The market got super crowded and they didn't respond well. But I don't understand the "go it alone" unless you mean innovating too late to roll out a new…

They decided to compete on operating systems well after it was obvious that a 3rd operating system wasn't going to make it. Numerous companies had failed or were failing on that strategy already.

They were ALREADY on first place, what you are saying makes no sense.
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