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I'd love to see Apple buy Blackberry. That way they would acquire all the secure servers that Blackberry uses for emails and messaging and people would finally be able to use Apple devices for work. I realize that many organizations have started to allow using iPhones for mobile devices, but there are still a good chunk that don't allow it. Acquiring Blackberry would help move that process along.
 
Enterprise secure e-mail is the main thing. Actually, it is still ahead of most solutions for Android and iOS right now, though that is changing. I could see Apple or Google being interested in BlackBerry's IP in order to build that functionality into the core OS.

'Bring your own device' is key now. To provide a sandboxed mail environment we use 'Good for Enterprise' which essentially does 'the same thing'.

Only a matter of time until Samsung Knox kicks off. Also brilliant AD integration.

Bottom line - unless BB changes their offerings, they're dead.
 
If Apple were smart, they would make a joint deal with Microsoft together for RIM patents and assets. I think RIM wants to sell to Google the least and if Google buys the patents, they will use them against Apple & Microsoft and less likely to want to make a combined offer. Microsoft is less a threat to Apple and I think Microsoft sees Google as the bigger threat to Windows Phone. That would be a big blow to Google and Apple & Microsoft will probably be cozier now that Balmer is leaving. A Win Win for both companies.
 
If Apple were smart, they would make a joint deal with Microsoft together for RIM patents and assets. I think RIM wants to sell to Google the least and if Google buys the patents, they will use them against Apple & Microsoft and less likely to want to make a combined offer. Microsoft is less a threat to Apple and I think Microsoft sees Google as the bigger threat to Windows Phone. That would be a big blow to Google and Apple & Microsoft will probably be cozier now that Balmer is leaving. A Win Win for both companies.

Google isn't so much a threat to Windows phones, but a threat to Microsoft as a whole. In the UK, Microsoft has started advertising about your privacy, and how if you don't want your email service to read your emails, you should go with Microsoft (they don't say _yet_ "and not Google").
 
I work in the public sector in an area that requires high security across the business. I've got a blackberry which is very locked down by IT policy (no wifi, no GPS, no BBM, no apps etc.) It is useful obviously for my email and calendars. My department has looked into moving to iPhones which obviously everyone would prefer but I can't see it happening any time soon.

I do wonder what happens if the company goes bust. I'm sure our handsets are all about three years old, anyway, and the enterprise servers would continue to run in-house, but it seems like there would be a serious gap in the market.
 
Then why did Apple, Microsoft and Google all offer to buy only parts of the company? Apple could have bought the entire company and then sold off the parts it has no use for and made money. They didn't so I suspect you are wrong. The parts are not worth more or someone would be acted on that already.
Because Apple isn't an investment company.

Description – Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.

If it doesn't help with designing, manufacturing or marketing Apple products, there is no point in owning it. Apple could probably make money with buying a herd of cattle and selling them individually. That's none of their business.

Google/Motorola and Microsoft/Nokia both already bought their hardware manufacturer. There simply is no one left who could make use of Blackberry as a whole. The company is worth nothing to nobody, thats why no one is interested in buying it. While some parts have value others don't. You can't always sell the parts you don't want.
 
Well said!the rest is history
Corporate email and one finger navigation was BlackBerry's strength before the iPhone came out in 2007. For years after the iPhone was launched BB remained the top dog until the iPhone became an iconic symbol of coolness and the preferred device of the youth and eventually was joined by android in a battle to the death to become the preferred platform of corporate mobile communication. Why would I buy an android powered BB when I have hundreds of options from tens of phone manufacturers? BB is dead and whoever gave them the one billion dollar bandaid is going to be disappointed.
 
Going Android also wouldn't work. Haven't you all heard that the only Android handset manufacturer making a profit on their phones is Samsung. And now Google has just fired a massive $350 shot across Samsung's bow. That Nexus 5 pricing just put a near cap on the price for Android phones. Who can spend money and design time on an Android phone if Google is just going to launch one better and cheaper? I predict that there will be a lot less "flagship" phones in the next year.

McSFT can keep supporting its tablets and portable solutions because it has billions and knows that mobile is the future of the space. So they can run all this stuff at a loss. Tough to compete with one guy who has super deep pockets and another guy who can basically give away the phones at cost.
 
Going Android also wouldn't work. Haven't you all heard that the only Android handset manufacturer making a profit on their phones is Samsung. And now Google has just fired a massive $350 shot across Samsung's bow. That Nexus 5 pricing just put a near cap on the price for Android phones. Who can spend money and design time on an Android phone if Google is just going to launch one better and cheaper? I predict that there will be a lot less "flagship" phones in the next year.

McSFT can keep supporting its tablets and portable solutions because it has billions and knows that mobile is the future of the space. So they can run all this stuff at a loss. Tough to compete with one guy who has super deep pockets and another guy who can basically give away the phones at cost.

Great observation. BlackBerry doesn't survive by becoming just another Android vendor.

The parallel between Google of today and Microsoft of 15 years ago is startling. The largest difference is that Google has decided to go into direct competition with its hardware partners sooner and in a bigger way than Microsoft did back then, or is doing even today. The net difference probably isn't going to be much, though. It is producing a similar race to the bottom in hardware, where only the most efficient survive, innovation is measured by putting product out more quickly and cheaply than the competition -- and, the lion's share of the profits go to the OS maker. This is the vassal state arrangement that Microsoft managed so well for a couple of decades but is now showing cracks.
 
I bet whomever bought their new phone. None of them was under 40. Same problem with government. Old people hanging on to BS.

Hmm.

There is a LOT you and many others that have only used iOS as their primary smartphone just don't know about nor understand.

First I highly recommend looking up and reading about QNX.

Next ... for a practice run ... install Box.net and DropBox. have accounts for both and see what happens to your camera roll when allowed to upload. Now ... using both applications (or even GoodReader) on iOS try to edit your files that where uploaded (I mean rename the file names themselves). GoodReader does it better than those other two applications ... but it's just plain horrible to do in either Box/Dropbox on iOS ... Android is just very similar as well.

Now ... try to do the same on BB10. Note, BB10 has dropbox and box pre-integrated into the File Manager core system app so the apps you've downloaded to BB10 are like plugins and they work a LOT better than iOS or Android does in this respect. Creating new folders on either cloud service also is much simpler using the app (plugin) itself vs using the browser on laptop/smartphone browser.

Oh and note ... the desktop's web browser or app (windows/osx) using DropBox/Box.net FREE service ... just doesn't allow you to load more than a 1GB file ... yet the smartphone does (on WiFi or HSPA/LTE). You cannot do this on Android or iOS.

That is just a tiny small difference you don't know until you USE it ... and you're calling this old ppl junk or BS? Get a clue ... don't talk about crap you don't know about nor understand nor have researched please.

I love iOS for many of it's benefits ... and it'll continue to have legs and dominate until a VERY new and welcoming paradigm comes along ... is that new paradigm BB10/Windows Phone? Doubtful as both have issues with traction, but calling something old by referencing the majority user base is just arrogance.

BTW: older than 40yr olds that love BB and use BBOS haven't upgraded at ALL!! They've sold a total of less than 2.4 million devices on BB10 because of missing functionality and features that their used to on BBOS. That and a missing trackpad because they just don't get full touch.
 
IT departments only came on board the Apple party wagon kicking and screaming. Employees demanded their iProducts get supported and most IT departments fought them tooth and nail.

Blackberry had a great form factor before people realized phones were really just Internet/gaming/entertainment portals. Heck, some people still fail to realize that (not as many here as there once were, but the "4" iPhone screen is the perfect size" crowd still don't get it either). The phone is the screen, and if you keep it small, people will flock to a product that makes a bigger screen easy to use. Blackberry stuck by their antiquated form factor and now they're not a player.

All that said, as others have noted, tech is a fast business. Blackberry still has engineers, they still have patents. Blackberry ought to focus on bringing THE next iPhone...going all in on an augmented reality headset/platform.

Some company will strike it big with AR...and soon, so far it looks like Google is best positioned, but they seem tentative slow, much like those Treo "smart"phones that showed promise, but never put together what the iPhone was able to show off. Maybe BB can bring itself back from the dead by creating the next big thing.

That's really because of the old People who run most it departments
 
Hmm.

There is a LOT you and many others that have only used iOS as their primary smartphone just don't know about nor understand.

First I highly recommend looking up and reading about QNX.

Next ... for a practice run ... install Box.net and DropBox. have accounts for both and see what happens to your camera roll when allowed to upload. Now ... using both applications (or even GoodReader) on iOS try to edit your files that where uploaded (I mean rename the file names themselves). GoodReader does it better than those other two applications ... but it's just plain horrible to do in either Box/Dropbox on iOS ... Android is just very similar as well.

Now ... try to do the same on BB10. Note, BB10 has dropbox and box pre-integrated into the File Manager core system app so the apps you've downloaded to BB10 are like plugins and they work a LOT better than iOS or Android does in this respect. Creating new folders on either cloud service also is much simpler using the app (plugin) itself vs using the browser on laptop/smartphone browser.

Oh and note ... the desktop's web browser or app (windows/osx) using DropBox/Box.net FREE service ... just doesn't allow you to load more than a 1GB file ... yet the smartphone does (on WiFi or HSPA/LTE). You cannot do this on Android or iOS.

That is just a tiny small difference you don't know until you USE it ... and you're calling this old ppl junk or BS? Get a clue ... don't talk about crap you don't know about nor understand nor have researched please.

I love iOS for many of it's benefits ... and it'll continue to have legs and dominate until a VERY new and welcoming paradigm comes along ... is that new paradigm BB10/Windows Phone? Doubtful as both have issues with traction, but calling something old by referencing the majority user base is just arrogance.

BTW: older than 40yr olds that love BB and use BBOS haven't upgraded at ALL!! They've sold a total of less than 2.4 million devices on BB10 because of missing functionality and features that their used to on BBOS. That and a missing trackpad because they just don't get full touch.

Wow - you make a lot of assumptions there. I have been in IT probably as long as you have been alive. (an assumption, yes) I used to buy cell phone contracts for several companies. I've got a box of old cell phones in my basement with more phones than you have socks. (another assumption) I used to switch cell phones pretty much 5 or six times per year.

So don't lecture me on the history of technology. What it boils down to is preference. If you like something you make it work some how. I don't think anyone will be switching from Android or IOS because BB has built in online storage. They will switch because of a preference, functionality or/and viability of the manufacturer. No one is going to buy a BB10 when the general consensus is that they will be dead shortly.

PALM anyone? (There is A history lesson for you)

Why do you assume I have only used IOS? I use both IOS and Android right now. I am pretty sure I have used more BB phones than you have. So get over yourself. Your reasoning is about storage and photos? Really!
 
Blackberry thinks that a $1B investment is going to dig them out of the financial hole, build a viable infrastructure, attract new developers, and build a device that will rival the momentum of Apple and Samsung? LOL...good luck with that.
 
Blackberry thinks that a $1B investment is going to dig them out of the financial hole, build a viable infrastructure, attract new developers, and build a device that will rival the momentum of Apple and Samsung? LOL...good luck with that.
Aside from the 1 Billion the have 3 Billion and no debt,they're doing fine.if the negotiations with google on the play store go through all will be well.
 
Great observation. BlackBerry doesn't survive by becoming just another Android vendor.

The parallel between Google of today and Microsoft of 15 years ago is startling. The largest difference is that Google has decided to go into direct competition with its hardware partners sooner and in a bigger way than Microsoft did back then, or is doing even today. The net difference probably isn't going to be much, though. It is producing a similar race to the bottom in hardware, where only the most efficient survive, innovation is measured by putting product out more quickly and cheaply than the competition -- and, the lion's share of the profits go to the OS maker. This is the vassal state arrangement that Microsoft managed so well for a couple of decades but is now showing cracks.

Yes, it is similar to what Microsoft did. But that race to the bottom was market driven so it took longer. For two big players it is now driven by philosophy. Google and Amazon have a philosophy that hardware should be as cheap as possible. Amazon is running the company with goal to not have any profits in the near future (or perhaps ever) and Google is running company with goal of no profits off of hardware. I'm not saying they dislike profits, but each company will apparently sacrifice hardware profit for market share. How can the pure hardware guys compete against that unless, like Apple, they can make a vastly superior product?
 
Yes, it is similar to what Microsoft did. But that race to the bottom was market driven so it took longer. For two big players it is now driven by philosophy. Google and Amazon have a philosophy that hardware should be as cheap as possible. Amazon is running the company with goal to not have any profits in the near future (or perhaps ever) and Google is running company with goal of no profits off of hardware. I'm not saying they dislike profits, but each company will apparently sacrifice hardware profit for market share. How can the pure hardware guys compete against that unless, like Apple, they can make a vastly superior product?

It could be said that Google (and to a lesser extent, Amazon) are perfecting the model that Microsoft invented, but I think it's really just a variation on the theme that software matters more than hardware. During the PC boom days (mid-'80s to around 2000), hardware manufacturers could make money even at the short end of the arrangement because the market was growing so quickly. It looked like it could go one forever, but of course it could not. A vicious shakeout was inevitable.

At this point we're seeing more or less the same scenario playing out in mobile. Samsung is the new Dell or HP. They stand to make a lot of money over the immediate term, but if they know their history, they have to be worried about a few years from now. Microsoft didn't care who made Windows PC so long as they kept selling copies of the OS. Google, by going head to head with their OEMs, seems to care even less about their care and feeding. The entire process is accelerated, so the shakeout will probably happen more quickly.

While I'm sure Amazon is working towards profits, as an AMZN investor I'd have to wonder when, though -- which is why I'm not one.
 
I do wonder what happens if the company goes bust. I'm sure our handsets are all about three years old, anyway, and the enterprise servers would continue to run in-house, but it seems like there would be a serious gap in the market.

If Blackberry gets to sure a dire state, FairFax, or some other company will come in a swoop up the assets for cheap, sort of like what Avaya did with parts of Nortel's assets.

----------

BTW: older than 40yr olds that love BB and use BBOS haven't upgraded at ALL!! They've sold a total of less than 2.4 million devices on BB10 because of missing functionality and features that their used to on BBOS. That and a missing trackpad because they just don't get full touch.

Almost all 50 year olds I know have an iOS device, yes some are on BB and others on Android, but the majority of older people I know have an iPhone...
 
Wow - you make a lot of assumptions there. I have been in IT probably as long as you have been alive. (an assumption, yes) I used to buy cell phone contracts for several companies. I've got a box of old cell phones in my basement with more phones than you have socks. (another assumption) I used to switch cell phones pretty much 5 or six times per year.

So don't lecture me on the history of technology. What it boils down to is preference. If you like something you make it work some how. I don't think anyone will be switching from Android or IOS because BB has built in online storage. They will switch because of a preference, functionality or/and viability of the manufacturer. No one is going to buy a BB10 when the general consensus is that they will be dead shortly.

PALM anyone? (There is A history lesson for you)

Why do you assume I have only used IOS? I use both IOS and Android right now. I am pretty sure I have used more BB phones than you have. So get over yourself. Your reasoning is about storage and photos? Really!

It is you that need to get over yourself ... personally your statement I've replied to stated less information regarding BlackBerry for someone that claims to have used BB devices. I didn't purchase as much as you have, I've troubleshooted far more as an assistant to a BES Admin, even installed several production servers regarding legacy BB devices.

Preference is always induced by those around you (a community of such) and by knowledge of a product and price.

Palm, 3COM, or HandSpring, then Palm Inc, the licensing issues/fued against Sony before the smartphone age showed it's issues - many have no clue of this, and thus going Palm with the Treo was just late with innovation .. I believe they where the LAST smartphone in the business to go colour screen across the board, and also failed by continue to heavily market their PDA lineup when when the competition MS Pocket PC Phone Edition/Smartphone Edition, Nokia's S60 or SE's UIQ began to gain traction.

BTW, I'm 40 so there is no way you've been buying phones longer than I have, I was 15 when the Car Phone or "BAG" phone appeared in public just after Miami Vice. ;)
 
It is you that need to get over yourself ... personally your statement I've replied to stated less information regarding BlackBerry for someone that claims to have used BB devices. I didn't purchase as much as you have, I've troubleshooted far more as an assistant to a BES Admin, even installed several production servers regarding legacy BB devices.

Preference is always induced by those around you (a community of such) and by knowledge of a product and price.

Palm, 3COM, or HandSpring, then Palm Inc, the licensing issues/fued against Sony before the smartphone age showed it's issues - many have no clue of this, and thus going Palm with the Treo was just late with innovation .. I believe they where the LAST smartphone in the business to go colour screen across the board, and also failed by continue to heavily market their PDA lineup when when the competition MS Pocket PC Phone Edition/Smartphone Edition, Nokia's S60 or SE's UIQ began to gain traction.

BTW, I'm 40 so there is no way you've been buying phones longer than I have, I was 15 when the Car Phone or "BAG" phone appeared in public just after Miami Vice. ;)

OK... Ive just been schooled. You are the master...... I bow to your perfection.
 
This company likes to stick to their guns, just as much as Apple likes going over the top using glue in their I.devices..

Well.... its time to die.... No company can last forever.
 
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