New BlackBerry Interim CEO Now Cleaning House

[exfileme]

A number of key people have left the building.

New BlackBerry Interim CEO Now Cleaning House : Read more

 

[Innocent_Bystander-1312890]

Que the Terran marine: "about damn time"...

IB

 

[Stevemeister]

So a new guy comes in - gets rid of the old guard, will then bring in a lot of old friends and cronies at high salaries and with outrageously generous golden parachutes that will make their departure in two years time (after failing to resurrect the company) more lucrative for them as individuals than actually helping the company succeed. . . . . . or am I just being cynical . . . . after all what did the last crew actually manage to achieve.

 

[nadavp3]

Time to replace the operating system of the phone to either Android, Windows Phone or iOS (never say never), sure, they will lose there uniqueness (they can still make a launcher, right?) and maybe this is for the best...

 

[cepheid]

Wow, Nadavp3, you obviously don't know anything about the OS. Much better designed than both iOS7 and Android. Perhaps start learning about keyboards, then move up to computers and software.

 

[nadavp3]

Wow, Nadavp3, you obviously don't know anything about the OS. Much better designed than both iOS7 and Android. Perhaps start learning about keyboards, then move up to computers and software.

Yet it doesn't sell, don't you get it? it being or not being better is not the issue.

The issue is that people don't buy the phones that this company is making.

My previous post's point was: perhaps with a different OS people will want the phones as specification wise there's nothing wrong with them (they support the latest phone networks and have a respectable amount of Ram, Mhz and storage space)

Android is open source, maybe they could use whatever millions of dollars they have left to create a branch of android that have the features of the blackbarry operating system.

Or maybe they could stop dumping money on user experience (that they worked so hard on for so many years) as it clearly doesn't pay off and simply tag along the rest of the manufacturers and become yet another android seller (as if we need any more... but it sure beats death, don't you think? + they could also try gain an advantage over the competition by claiming superior quality of products [built quality that is])

This way the average joe will not be afraid to be on an OS no one else have (no one else that he knows, clearly some people still use it)

Edit: oh and I happen to know a thing or two about keyboards, I have a Filco mechanical keyboard with cherry mx brown switches, and its UK layout for that extra big enter key.

+ Now go watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efqytocE1Qw

 

[schultzter]

Really, it's not about the OS any more. iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Firefox OS, Tizen, Sailfish, Ubuntu, etc. It's the apps that matter - not just on the phone but at the backend too. Blackberry is not going to return their former glory by competing based on their OS.

 

[elgranchuchu]

Wow, Nadavp3, you obviously don't know anything about the OS. Much better designed than both iOS7 and Android. Perhaps start learning about keyboards, then move up to computers and software.

Yet it doesn't sell, don't you get it? it being or not being better is not the issue.

The issue is that people don't buy the phones that this company is making.

My previous post's point was: perhaps with a different OS people will want the phones as specification wise there's nothing wrong with them (they support the latest phone networks and have a respectable amount of Ram, Mhz and storage space)

Android is open source, maybe they could use whatever millions of dollars they have left to create a branch of android that have the features of the blackbarry operating system.

Or maybe they could stop dumping money on user experience (that they worked so hard on for so many years) as it clearly doesn't pay off and simply tag along the rest of the manufacturers and become yet another android seller (as if we need any more... but it sure beats death, don't you think? + they could also try gain an advantage over the competition by claiming superior quality of products [built quality that is])

This way the average joe will not be afraid to be on an OS no one else have (no one else that he knows, clearly some people still use it)

Edit: oh and I happen to know a thing or two about keyboards, I have a Filco mechanical keyboard with cherry mx brown switches, and its UK layout for that extra big enter key.

+ Now go watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efqytocE1Qw

It's just this:

Blackberry it's not for kids, it's not for play, it's a bussines phone, for bussiness people!

 

[schnitter]

This has been done several times before. New CEO, fire people, FAIL, and the cycle begins again.

Just give it up RIM/BB/WhateverFailNameIsNext

 

[timaahhh]

Gotta love a hatchet man

 

[nadavp3]

It's just this:

Blackberry it's not for kids, it's not for play, it's a business phone, for business people!

OK, I was just under the impression that everybody wanted to be the #1 seller, or to have a double digit market share, if a company was able to make a phone that would appeal to all business man and women out there to the point companies will stop the "bring your own device" policy and revert to a "You can only use this" redistricted policy due to sheer amount of advantages that this phone had then I would be agreeing with you.

I think its not "a phone for business people", its a phone for sale, and whatever can sells more of it - the better.

In my opinion trying to cutter to a specific audience, while awesome in theory, could play out as catastrophic mistake should it .. not work.

case in point: the company that I work for have phone deals for employs, yet non of which features BB, why is that? Additionally, no one that works in my office\floor\that I have seen in the cafeteria got BB phone, why is that?

In other words: they need to figure out:
1) what makes the customer really want to buy X phone
2) what makes the customer refuse a buying Y phone
and then act accordingly

I still think that my above solution stands: port apps to android, make them all work under a rom specific framework that only operates on RIM's official android roms (similar to touchwize only working for Samsung roms and htcsense only working for HTC roms) and appeal to a bigger mass.
it could still have business features and use that angle to attract attention.

Or are you perhaps saying that they, upfront, don't want to sell their products to non-business people? And that business people don't want android\ios\wp for business usage (and much rather use both a BB and a Android\iOS\WP for this two functions)

 

[kulmnar]

So let me make a completely wild guess: This new management, will get generous pay packages regardless of how the product sells, and then if the product under-sells they will blame "weak consumer demand" and the competition. If the product succeeds in sales, they will take full credit for all the "hard work". And the developers and low level managers will still be paid peanuts.

 

[elgranchuchu]

It's just this:

Blackberry it's not for kids, it's not for play, it's a business phone, for business people!

OK, I was just under the impression that everybody wanted to be the #1 seller, or to have a double digit market share, if a company was able to make a phone that would appeal to all business man and women out there to the point companies will stop the "bring your own device" policy and revert to a "You can only use this" redistricted policy due to sheer amount of advantages that this phone had then I would be agreeing with you.

I think its not "a phone for business people", its a phone for sale, and whatever can sells more of it - the better.

In my opinion trying to cutter to a specific audience, while awesome in theory, could play out as catastrophic mistake should it .. not work.

case in point: the company that I work for have phone deals for employs, yet non of which features BB, why is that? Additionally, no one that works in my office\floor\that I have seen in the cafeteria got BB phone, why is that?

In other words: they need to figure out:
1) what makes the customer really want to buy X phone
2) what makes the customer refuse a buying Y phone
and then act accordingly

I still think that my above solution stands: port apps to android, make them all work under a rom specific framework that only operates on RIM's official android roms (similar to touchwize only working for Samsung roms and htcsense only working for HTC roms) and appeal to a bigger mass.
it could still have business features and use that angle to attract attention.

Or are you perhaps saying that they, upfront, don't want to sell their products to non-business people? And that business people don't want android\ios\wp for business usage (and much rather use both a BB and a Android\iOS\WP for this two functions)

ok, you have to know that whit the latest BB OS (10.2.1) you can install any android app directly to the phone (instagram, shazam, etc). The other thing is that there isn't a commercial phone more secure than blackberry, if you have sensitive information from your company in your phone, then you have to think twice before buy a phone to work with.

Yes, a lot of people have androids, or iphones, but i've worked in companies that only allow BB phones, because of the security. BB OS is the only one that have the "RESTRICTED" security clearance certification and NATO restricted certification; and, if you own a company, and your employees work with sensitive company information, wich OS will you choose?, if an employee loose his phone and affect the future of your company, what will you do?, thats why i said that BB is a Bussiness phone.

 

[actsai]

Really, it's not about the OS any more. iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Firefox OS, Tizen, Sailfish, Ubuntu, etc. It's the apps that matter - not just on the phone but at the backend too. Blackberry is not going to return their former glory by competing based on their OS.

Well said, how do I quote someone like the box and stuff?

A lot of people defend it based on superior OS, but... inferior post-sell is even more important, no app selections (better with 10 came along but still lousy), lousy keyboard (soft I mean) it is not much of improvement over Android's stock and definitely down compare to Android's swappable Input Method. Marketing and pre-sell is somewhat lousy too.

If defending as Business phone, why Z10? Shouldn't Q10 be first in a correct universe? High security is not called for majority of people on the good ol' Earth. That is moot point to vast majority and BB7 users were paying for it whether they like it or not.

 

[actsai]

Oh forgot to add I am using Firefox browser, but I will be first against Firefox OS, and quite happy when Ubuntu Mobile floundered, while I think Ubuntu (prefer Xubuntu) is best OS package around.

 

[eddieroolz]

Cue the people claiming that Android, WinPhone or whatever will fix BlackBerry's problems.

Here's the current climate: the only Android maker making any significant money is Samsung, because they own all the production facilities needed. No one else is making money. Switch to Android and instantly lose any chance of survival.

 

[nadavp3]

Cue the people claiming that Android, WinPhone or whatever will fix BlackBerry's problems.

Here's the current climate: the only Android maker making any significant money is Samsung, because they own all the production facilities needed. No one else is making money. Switch to Android and instantly lose any chance of survival.

So how come that there are so many android phone makers?
Maybe you meant to say that this brands don't make as much as Samsung? Can provide data that this brands are going out of business?

And laugh all you want but true security is separating\isolating sensitive information:
when\where you deal\speak about\on sensitive data... phones must have their batteries removed and there are no plugs on computers and no vpn\exchange on your phone either.

But I can see the advantages of a "RESTRICTED" security clearance certification and NATO restricted certification, that said, how many teenagers\students\normal humans, require that? this doesn't defeat what was said about "phone for business" but does not stand in line with the goal of "highest market share possible" as ... that feature alone wont get you there

speaking of features that are awesome and we all wish that all phones had and yet only a small minority makes decisions based of: rugged, such as Sonim phones: http://www.sonimtech.com/
Wish my Android phone had that, heck, if any of the big 3 (ios\android\wp) had such phone, then i'd get that as my next phone (even today and sell whatever I have at the moment), or even, if Sonim had whatsapp+viber+skype+hangout (which I consider as a must) I would definitely buy that type of phone. why carry a glass sheet in your pocket that you have to babysit all the time?

 

[Antimatter79]

BlackBerry was my first cell phone so for a while I did have a soft spot for them and never imagined wanting anything else; I loved the keyboard, the ease of accessing personal and corporate email, and BB Messenger, especially since I could see when messages were received AND read. Aside from a utility standpoint, I was never really a "phone person". That all changed when I saw that smartphones could not only be useful, but also just plain fun and cool. Once I got an Android device, there was no turning back, and to my surprise, I never once missed my BlackBerrys. I guess BlackBerry's mistake must have been that the devices have been useful but never having that fun and wow factor, and also, the failures of the RIM Playbook, which really spelled the end in my opinion. At this point, I honestly don't see that there is room for BlackBerry anymore, and their dismal app selection was never a draw for me. Other than Chess and the occasional game of brick breaker (?), I only used my BB's for communication purposes, and that was it.

 

[elgranchuchu]

Cue the people claiming that Android, WinPhone or whatever will fix BlackBerry's problems.

Here's the current climate: the only Android maker making any significant money is Samsung, because they own all the production facilities needed. No one else is making money. Switch to Android and instantly lose any chance of survival.

So how come that there are so many android phone makers?
Maybe you meant to say that this brands don't make as much as Samsung? Can provide data that this brands are going out of business?

And laugh all you want but true security is separating\isolating sensitive information:
when\where you deal\speak about\on sensitive data... phones must have their batteries removed and there are no plugs on computers and no vpn\exchange on your phone either.

But I can see the advantages of a "RESTRICTED" security clearance certification and NATO restricted certification, that said, how many teenagers\students\normal humans, require that? this doesn't defeat what was said about "phone for business" but does not stand in line with the goal of "highest market share possible" as ... that feature alone wont get you there

speaking of features that are awesome and we all wish that all phones had and yet only a small minority makes decisions based of: rugged, such as Sonim phones: http://www.sonimtech.com/
Wish my Android phone had that, heck, if any of the big 3 (ios\android\wp) had such phone, then i'd get that as my next phone (even today and sell whatever I have at the moment), or even, if Sonim had whatsapp+viber+skype+hangout (which I consider as a must) I would definitely buy that type of phone. why carry a glass sheet in your pocket that you have to babysit all the time?

babysit all the time?
I think that you have never test or used a Z10, i can say that because before when i was a nokia user i talk the same way that you about blackberry phones, ok let's don't speak about os7, i'm talking about OS10. When a phone that is full of apps and is faster than when it was new, and shows any lag, that can install any android app, and have the fastest phone browser in the market.
I know that you won't understand me because, i didn't understood before, when i was nokia, you have to own one and test it long.

 

[TeraMedia]

Here come the sharks. Feeding frenzy, with golden parachutes for the old guard. I don't envy anyone remaining at BlackBerry. Even if the company pulls out, the culture will be gutted, leaving nothing but a stoic, stingy, miserable place to work. Believe me, I would love to be wrong about this because I think BB has in the past created excellent ideas. But I'm not very optimistic.

 

[nadavp3]

babysit all the time?
I think that you have never test or used a Z10, i can say that because before when i was a nokia user i talk the same way that you about blackberry phones, ok let's don't speak about os7, i'm talking about OS10. When a phone that is full of apps and is faster than when it was new, and shows any lag, that can install any android app, and have the fastest phone browser in the market.
I know that you won't understand me because, i didn't understood before, when i was nokia, you have to own one and test it long.

If the phone can do all that you said it could do (super fast user experience /w android apps) then there is really no reason for anyone not to consider buying one.

You are right on the money, I did try os7 but never got the chance to play with OS10
my problem is that i don't know anyone that actually got BB at the moment. We do, however, have one spear in my office that I can (and have previously) play with, I'll try to see if it can get the os update (i think not as its .. 3 years old but i'll still try) and who knows

* speaking of the above, this might actually be one of the bigger factors in people's decision if to buy or not: if no one else have it.. then they wont buy it for they buy "what everyone else have" (this is not how i roll but im not in the majority on this one)