Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
BlackBerry Receives Takeover Bid Worth $4.7 Billion or $9/Share
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
There is fairly little risk in that. The company has $2.6 billion in cash and no debt. The services that you require are extremely profitable and unrelated to the handset division. Also there are far more blackberries out there in use than there are Windows phones. To the extent there is a business to be had supporting them, there will be a company that does that.
But I should have stopped reading with "switching to windows phone." How many dollars do you think Microsoft is going to throw into that sink hole?
Fair enough. I'll readily admit I realized I'm not really an "app" person and so the iPhone for me quickly lost it's luster. Also after I switched back to PC for work and gaming I realized some of the iPhone features that make it great need other Apple devices to really get the most out of it which I no longer have. I'd say I spend 90% of my time on my Blackberry emailing, texting, calling, looking up info on the fly online, and using a calender for scheduling. The apps were appealing at first on the iPhone but at least for me, quickly just became clutter. Plus I can't stand all touchscreen devices (and this includes BB all touch devices).
It is indeed sad to see a good company going down. It's be one thing if the Microsoft ship were sinking, but as far as I know, RIM/BlackBerry was a solid company with good products. It's too bad...I like the innovative spirit behind capitalism, but this is one undeserving casualty. I may be inclined to Apple's products, but I like to know there's at least some competition out there; too bad, it's come down to Samsung's garbage.
60-80 million BB devices worldwide in use at last check.
----------
So does that mean Apple should maybe start making communication devices instead of entertainment devices in the phone market?
Strange to see the once mighty BlackBerry get to the point where they're stopping selling to consumers. Likewise what'd happened with Nokia and the (somewhat) predictable sale to Microsoft.
Still, that's not to say both can't rise again. Much in the way as Apple came back from the 'dead' many many years back. The more competition the better.
I have a 9930 for work and it blows. Touch screen is barely responsive, battery life sucks, navigating is a chore. My backup 3GS is nearly two years older than this thing and I would rather use that.
This is a strategy that is sure to kill the company, IMO. There are no separate "professional" or "business user" markets anymore.
BlackBerry stubbornly ignored all of their opportunities to stay relevant; I'm not sure there's any hope for them anymore.
they let their own arrogance and sleu of the same pearl and curve phones demise them. they were the same brand just in different packaging. no real innovation until the storm and even then, it was done poorly. they sunk their own ship.
I will say the email push was the best I've ever had. and the bum was ahead of its time.
I will say the email push was the best I've ever had. and the bum was ahead of its time.
Priceless. That's cruel.
I'm sure it applies to the new Surface Pro 2 announcement as well. This could be applied for a LOT of things.
Apple's iPhone pairs well with their ecosystem of OS X and iTunes.
Microsoft's phone/tablet pairs well with their ecosystem of Windows and Music Store.
Google has a similar, albiet smaller ecosystem of search, mail, storage, etc.
Blackberry has a phone and that's it. There's no eco system. This is why they failed. There's nothing to 'retain' a user. Not even enterprise anymore.
I have a great idea for Blackberry that could possibly bring them back. It won't happen in 2014 or probably even 2015, but by 2016 I can definitely see a very large possibility of coming back based on a few factors.
Microsoft's phone/tablet pairs well with their ecosystem of Windows and Music Store.
Google has a similar, albiet smaller ecosystem of search, mail, storage, etc.
Blackberry has a phone and that's it. There's no eco system. This is why they failed. There's nothing to 'retain' a user. Not even enterprise anymore.
I have a great idea for Blackberry that could possibly bring them back. It won't happen in 2014 or probably even 2015, but by 2016 I can definitely see a very large possibility of coming back based on a few factors.
Apparently. That's all they are buying them for since they certainly aren't a company familiar with running a hardware/software/services company.
+1 and to share it just by typing "mypin"
Typing ld to insert the date and lt to insert the time. There were some things BB did exceptionally well that would be great to see carried over to iOS.
I have a 9930 that's a little over a year and a half old and runs smooth. Hold down "alt" and type "lglg." This brings up the event log. Press the BB button, select refresh then clear log. Then go back to home screen and hold down the BB button to see open apps/programs. Select ones you aren't using and close them. Also you may want to look into changing your inbox settings so messages and texts over X amount of days are deleted regularly to clear the cache.
To each their own, I had a 4S and wanted to throw the thing out the window after a month.
True, but the company is making massive losses each quarter, and these have to be compensated somehow. Of course there are many BB's in use, but many organisations are now switchings also (Accenture, Deloitte, etc) or are implementing BYOD programs. We have also just started a BYOD program and there is not a soul in my organisation that is bringing in a BB.
I also have my doubts about Windows Phone, but my company is probably betting on a lot of BYOD users and a minority of Windows Phone users. They looked at all the possibilities and found that the integration of windows phone with our existing systems is the most cheap and easy.
Hold on a second, your company is switching from Blackberry to another platform (windows phone) with possibly even fewer apps and developers? Windows phone offers no real advantages for business users over iPhone. Are you aware that iOS devices can be managed and wiped through Exchange management tools and that Apple licensed the Active sync protocol from Microsoft?
If the concern is to leverage existing .NET development knowledge, you should be aware that Mono is a viable route for developing iOS applications. But even then, your developers should be able to pickup enough Objective-C skills to create a UI that would consume a .NET web service so most of the code would be server side anyways in most situations.
There's users out there that want what Blackberry has to offer. Sure BB drug their feet and lost many users who defected to iPhones and Androids over the years, but there's still users out there who would get a Blackberry device if it delivered.
I have nothing against iPhones or Androids but I never really got how a professional could use a device geared towards entertainment first as a full blown, dependable communication tool. People obviously do it, but if I'm using my phone for professional needs I need to get in , type quick, and get on to the next thing. So there's others like me that don't see how an iPhone ever is up to par with the needs of professional and not casual users.
Part of the problem is marketing. They marketed BB10 horribly. Part of it's lack of apps. People who want apps won't go to Blackberry. But not everyone cares about apps and want a device that is communications first and foremost. I don't need a phone that can stream movies, play candy crush, look at instagram, and look pretty. I need a phone that lasts all day, I can type quickly on, email shows up in real time, and is dependable.
That's what happens and will eventually happen to every company on Earth. Nothing lives forever, nothing.
Were it not for BlackBerry, we probably wouldn't have the iPhones that we do today. Sure, we can call their last few years "amateur hour," but from 1999 or so - they were the pros. The rest of the devices were amateur. It's easy to laugh this off, but there is a potential for more than 10,000 people to lose their jobs. They may be "amateurs" in your mind, but they have to put food on the table like we all do.