back to article BlackBerry vows to make even fewer phones

It isn’t just Microsoft that’s going on a drastic phone diet. BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen today indicated that the Canadian enterprise vendor would cut its device portfolio from the four devices previously promised for 2015 to “two or one” a year. “We are reducing jobs, but it is not so much as reducing; we are shifting it, so …

  1. James 51

    If they continue to support their older devices two new models a year might be enough to keep them going.

  2. g7rpo

    What do they offer anymore

    they did something clever a long time ago, nothing since, now even using activesync

    1. fruitoftheloon
      Happy

      @g7rpo: Re: What do they offer anymore

      G7,

      what do they offer? Well the aforementioned security related features aside, A PROPER KEYBOARD!!

      The contract conks out on my Note 2 shortly, I am very tempted to acquire me a Passport or a Q10.

      Mmdv.

      Jay

      1. James 51

        Re: @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

        My advice would be to try them if you can. The passport is very different from any other phone out there. The Q10 has the advantage of a removable battery but the passport has the trackpad built into it's keyboard (accurate positioning using the touchscreen is the Q10's only real weakness).

        1. fruitoftheloon
          Pint

          @James 51 Re: @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

          James,

          Indeed! The missus has a Q5, which I will spend more time with first.

          I will have words with independent phone shops to have a play with the Passport, I love the idea of the keyboard/trackpad thing; but need to see if my theory aligns with its' practice...

          A key req. for me is the audio quality, as Spotify offline is used a lot hereabouts... Hence some research is needed.

          Thanks for the tips, have one on me matey!

          Cheers,

          Jay

          1. Ian Entwistle

            Re: @James 51 @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

            Love my BBerry Passport I came from a NOTE 3 and it absolutely is everything I wanted it to be, in relation to how it sounds, have a shufty here http://audiophileon.com/news/blackberry-passport-review-part-2-audio-quality?rq=blackberry

          2. James 51

            Re: @James 51 @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

            I have the Q10. The loudspeaker does well for voice based podcasts (and loudspeaker phone calls to) but isn't that good for music. I have tried bluetooth and wired headphones and both seem to work well.

            1. fruitoftheloon
              Thumb Up

              Re: Ian Entwistle: @James 51 @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

              Ian & James,

              Chaps thanks for the pointers re audio quality, 'tis much appreciated.

              Cheers,

              Jay

              1. Montreal Sean

                Re: Ian Entwistle: @James 51 @g7rpo: What do they offer anymore

                Check out the "Classic", it has a bigger screen than the Q10 and has a real keyboard and the optical trackpad.

  3. legless82

    I'm not sure how they can fix their device business.

    It's been woefully mismanaged in terms of getting the right devices out there at the right time, and actually making the market aware that the devices exist. They've burned their relationships with many of the carriers, meaning even less exposure to the consumer. Many of the people I speak to are not even aware that Blackberry still exists as a business and that they are producing devices still. Even fewer know about the BB10 platform, and still think that Blackberry devices are pretty much the same as the Curve they owned 7 years ago.

    The real shame is that their devices really are better than ever. I currently use a Blackberry Passport as my personal device, having switched from a Galaxy S4, and it's the best device I've ever used. It's certainly a better device than my work-issued iPhone 5S.

    It seems at times that they've pulled a masterstoke of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

    1. Waspy

      Same here, love my passport but most people either think BlackBerry have gone bust, still only make the legacy style curve phones or simply have an irrational hatred of them.

      Anyway, I've said countless times in reg forums that bb10 devices would prob be perfect for most businesses over needlessly expensive iphones and Googlefied Samsungs but those same three sorts of people are also running IT departments so BlackBerry don't get a look in. And really, BlackBerry only have themselves to blame.

  4. Jim84

    Moon on a stick wishes

    Typical blogger comment here, but they should just do four phones per year. An iPhone alike, a slightly thicker version of the iPhone alike with a slide out keyboard, a classic device, and a cheap materials version of the classic device. The home button on the iPhone alikes should be raised rather than recessed and able to act as a trackpad like that on the current classic.

    It is a shame that they don't seem to be able to get all Android apps working in BBOS as there are clearly benefits to making both the hardward and OS.

    1. James 51

      Re: Moon on a stick wishes

      That's because Google control who gets access to Google Play services.

  5. mevets

    Chen quote.

    The quote from Mr Chen:

    “We are reducing jobs, but it is not so much as reducing; we are shifting it, so we are taking a lot of the hardware, hence that traditionally we make four phones a year or design, made, manufactured, whatever. We are not going to do that anymore. We are going to at least cut it down a lot; maybe two, maybe one, but not so many,”

    really clarifies the challenge BB faces.

    As he was talking to Fox, it isn't likely anyone noticed...

    ps: Only BB utilizes trust mode? fact checker, we have a cleanup on aisle 5....

  6. enormous c word

    1 Device

    Just one device with a removable battery and a removable full-size touchscreen or a half-size touch-screen + half-size keyboard. Their choices are simple either innovate back to being cool (in which case, I'd suggest that the *coolness* should be in the physicality of the device - not just the software) -or- re-badge someone else's Android Phone -or- a fork of cyanogen

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