[cib24]

Quote:

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is looking at options that could include joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company as it struggles to survive against stiff competition

BlackBerry, which pioneered on-your-hip email with its first smartphones and email pagers, on Monday said it had set up a committee to review its options and that top shareholder Prem Watsa was stepping down from its board due to a possible conflict of interest.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/12/uk-blackberry-committee-idUKBRE97B0CB20130812

I think they will be a very interesting target. They have numerous valuable patents and the company is debt free. Most companies that end up in this position are usually riddled with debt. Blackberry appears to be just a case of very bad management.

It is a shame that they couldn't release new phones with BB10 sooner than they did because the OS is actually pretty slick. My wife uses a Q5 and having tried it I think it is a huge step up from their previous generation phones. I don't think their keyboard handsets will appeal to many but damn if I wasn't impressed with the speed and the typing experience on the new Q5. I'm currently trying to get my employer to upgrade me from my crappy Curve 9360 to the Q5 as a result.

 

[jetsam]

When they abandoned the Playbook, they lost the fight.

I wouldn't buy Blackberry unless all the management is replaced.

 

[InfamousCDN]

I have a z10 and I don't mind it. It does some weird things that my iphone never did, but hey it makes for an interesting experience everyday.

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfamousCDN

I have a z10 and I don't mind it. It does some weird things that my iphone never did, but hey it makes for an interesting experience everyday.

Really? I have a friend that has it (has 4S previously), he showed it to me and it was pretty impressive.

 

[razorguy]

They should turn into a hardware company and help push Windows Phone like Nokia did. I love my Lumia 920 but wouldn't mind another top notch hardware builder to choose from for my next Windows Phone

 

[deathdeal3r]

There too cheap now

sold a blackberry on orange for like less then £10

link

 

[OC'ing Noob]

The Blackberry Storm was a blasphemy towards smartphones with touchscreens. If I ever truly hated an electronic device I purchased, it would be the BB Storm. It has been the only electronic that I was angry enough with that I almost through it against the wall. Truly a pos phone.

 

[nathris]

Switch. To. Android.

They're already making BBM cross platform, and have spent considerable effort getting Android apps to run in BBOS. They need to face the facts and accept that they can't go it alone anymore. They're doing poorly even in Canada, where people buy Blackberries simply because they're Canadian.

I think a foray into the Android ecosystem would be the most profitable thing to happen to them since Apple released the iPhone. They make phones that focus on the two things Android is currently lacking: enterprise security and physical keyboards.

Android 4.3 supports SELinux, so they could use that as a base and make the most business friendly smartphone on the market.

And the last real Android smartphone with a physical keyboard was the DROID 4, which wasn't even that great. A Q10 running Android would fly off the shelves.

 

[spice003]

google should just buy it.

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puck

BB10 is a REALLY good OS and I would hate for them to dump it for Android...although better integration with Droid apps would be great so I don't have to manually convert and sideload them. Z10 with Google Playstore access is the Ultimate smartphone IMO!

Yea I've only tried it quickly but gestures and smoothness/optimization plus Android apps compatibility is what makes it stand out to me.

 

[kx11]

i'm surprised Sammy didn't buy them yet

 

[james8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by razorguy

They should turn into a hardware company and help push Windows Phone like Nokia did. I love my Lumia 920 but wouldn't mind another top notch hardware builder to choose from for my next Windows Phone

are you kidding?

most people buy Blackberries for the BB10 OS. the hardware is subpar, esp. the camera. it also looks so similar to an iphone.

 

[razorguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james8

are you kidding?
most people buy Blackberries for the BB10 OS. the hardware is subpar, esp. the camera. it also looks so similar to an iphone.

I haven't had a BB10 device in my hand or read anything on them for that matter. In previous years I remember them dishing out some solid hardware so I assumed that hadn't changed.

 

[waveevd]

It's BlackBerry fault for not changing there ugly Smartphone and not inventing some smart Smartphone.

 

[Puck]

BB hardware is mid range at best, just like the iPhones(Don't let their buzzwords fool you, a GS4 wipes the floor with the IP5's hardware). Since the OS is custom made for that exact hardware though, and doesn't have to work on thousands of different phones, the Z10 is remarkably smooth and lag free for its only "decent" stats (1.5ghz dual core, 2GB Ram, 1280x768 screen). Same stats on an Android device would not be nearly as crisp of an experience, so you can't really compare based on what you see on paper. It's like running one program on Linux and one on Vista...even with lower end hardware, the Linux machine will run some things better then a higher end Vista box.

 

[Sylon]

Well there goes waterloo...

 

[abdidas]

yeah that's smart.

So they can be like nokia and proprietary apps for a mobile OS by a company (microsoft) which ignores its customers everyday by failing to release basic features.

 

[Domino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nathris

Switch. To. Android.

They're already making BBM cross platform, and have spent considerable effort getting Android apps to run in BBOS. They need to face the facts and accept that they can't go it alone anymore. They're doing poorly even in Canada, where people buy Blackberries simply because they're Canadian.

I think a foray into the Android ecosystem would be the most profitable thing to happen to them since Apple released the iPhone. They make phones that focus on the two things Android is currently lacking: enterprise security and physical keyboards.

Android 4.3 supports SELinux, so they could use that as a base and make the most business friendly smartphone on the market.

And the last real Android smartphone with a physical keyboard was the DROID 4, which wasn't even that great. A Q10 running Android would fly off the shelves.

I would be surprised the majority of Canadians know black berry is Canadian.

But I completely agree. If bb enters android, or even windows, support for office 365, and bring their security and unique phone design to either platform, they'll be back in the game for all fronts again. Might need to improve their name because I wouldn't be surprised most people think bb to be a "business phone "

 

[Nexo]

I don't like Blackberry that much because of there designs.

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puck

Since the OS is custom made for that exact hardware though, and doesn't have to work on thousands of different phones, the Z10 is remarkably smooth and lag free for its only "decent" stats (1.5ghz dual core, 2GB Ram, 1280x768 screen).

Well "only decent"? I don't see why you would want more power than that I mean it's a phone not a desktop workstation.