A New BlackBerry Phone?!

[Kayza]

1. Regardless of the diehards, get rid of the physical keyboard. Sure the purists want that, and I understand, but this is a business. A business needs to sell a lot of phones to be profitable.

Right now, all they have to differentiate themselves is the keyboard. If they have a good one, they will be able to serve a niche market. If they don't have a keyboard, they won't have even that to appeal to.

2. Stick to only 2 phones. A flagship and an entry level. Something to get in the hands of everyone, and make updates easier.

I would not even bother with the flagship - I really don't think anyone is going to want to pay flagship prices for the BB unless they do something REALLY killer, and even then it's not a sure bet. And given their history, I doubt something fantastic is in the works. Let them put out a solid mid-range phone, not too expensive, with one or two REALLY good features and that might draw people in.

3. Support the device (updates) for a minimum of 30 months.

Yes. I think that it won't be what draws people in per se, but it might make the jump easier for people who are considering it.

 

[o4liberty]

I just hope it's a bold like device with top specs and great camera otherwise it's done before it's released.

 

[C_McD]

I have zero interest. The device is going to have a physical keyboard, which I haven't used in over 8 years. At this time I have no desire to return to a nostalgic form factor that provides no benefit to me but simply takes up extra space, adds extra weight, and adds an additional point of potential hardware failure.

I suspect this device will be as much a failure as all the other attempts to revive a design that has been rejected by all but a few nostalgic people who have been unable to adapt to change.

When I had to switch from my Z30 because of one business app I needed, I thought I'd miss glass typing, but the benefits of the tactile KB on my KEYᵒⁿᵉ was easy to grasp and now I'd miss it. Marketing and major carriers will control the success of the device - something TCL never had.

 

[C_McD]

Right now, all they have to differentiate themselves is the keyboard. If they have a good one, they will be able to serve a niche market. If they don't have a keyboard, they won't have even that to appeal to.


I would not even bother with the flagship - I really don't think anyone is going to want to pay flagship prices for the BB unless they do something REALLY killer, and even then it's not a sure bet. And given their history, I doubt something fantastic is in the works. Let them put out a solid mid-range phone, not too expensive, with one or two REALLY good features and that might draw people in.



Yes. I think that it won't be what draws people in per se, but it might make the jump easier for people who are considering it.

I was very pleased adapting back to the Tactile KB and don't miss typing on glass at all! Pricing of flagships have gotten ToTaLY ridiculous and a good balance of price/performance will make for success!

 

[Golfdriver97]

Filling a niche market isn't as strong of a selling point as many think it might be. Who would want to go into business to serve ONLY left handed women golfers? Not many. Why? The point of a business is to make money. You don't make that much money off a small percentage of people. The more you eliminate, the less product you will move. The less product, the less money you make. The only way for any company to still make this device and insist on keeping such a niche form factor is for someone like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates to literally throw away money.

The market chose to leave the keyboard back in what...2009? I don't think it was that much of marketing, but the consumer choosing to move on.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Filling a niche market isn't as strong of a selling point as many think it might be. Who would want to go into business to serve ONLY left handed women golfers? Not many. Why? The point of a business is to make money. You don't make that much money off a small percentage of people. The more you eliminate, the less product you will move. The less product, the less money you make. The only way for any company to still make this device and insist on keeping such a niche form factor is for someone like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates to literally throw away money.

The market chose to leave the keyboard back in what...2009? I don't think it was that much of marketing, but the consumer choosing to move on.

The key to making niche products successful is if those products are able to be manufactured inexpensively with parts that are readily available and possibly use components that are used in something else.

For example, valve amplifiers are still available for home hifi use, since it is not that difficult to build the circuits, resistors, transformers. The valves themselves are used in guitar amps as well, so as long as guitarists use valve amps, hifi home stereo valve amps will probably exist. There still are many NOS valves, and modern production of valves by Russian and Chinese companies still exists. However, if guitarists completely lose interest in valve amps for their instruments, then I doubt if home hifi valve amps would be a big enough niche to continue making.

Now, the problem here is that physical keyboards for phones have no other use case, so the cost of manufacturing is expensive compared to that of touchscreen phones.

 

[klayymann99]

Skimmed the article, here are my thoughts.

Blackberry had it's day. They are going to need to pull out all the stops to make a device that people will buy. If they want to survive, they need to do the following (in my opinion):
1. Regardless of the diehards, get rid of the physical keyboard. Sure the purists want that, and I understand, but this is a business. A business needs to sell a lot of phones to be profitable.

2. Stick to only 2 phones. A flagship and an entry level. Something to get in the hands of everyone, and make updates easier.

3. Support the device (updates) for a minimum of 30 months.

4. Open any software to other devices. Let people get a feel for what they can do.

That is just my take. I don't really have a positive outlook for this brand. Simply for the reason that Samsung is well entrenched in the top spot for OEMs. It will be quite an undertaking to topple them. Even if some other PC OEM were to release a phone, it would still be an undertaking.

Physical keyboard is a must for a Blackberry, I have the Keyone and love it! It is a niche phone, there is no beating Crapple or Samsung at this point, but I for one will be in line for a BlackBerry phone with keyboard

 

[brentcoco]

Make the form factor, with keyboard, an updated version of the Bold, Classic, or (my personal favorite) the 7290 with scroll wheel. You will see a huge avalanche of corporate phone jockeys flock to the device. This is the form factor that defined Blackberry. Lean in!

 

[cindyloowho33]

Easy for you to say "get rid of the keyboard" ...I have very soft fingertips and using a touch screen is the most frustrating thing imaginable. I was in charge of telecommunications for a company.We had over 200 various phones and I used them all so don't try tell me that one flavor is better than another when it comes to keyboards. I want my damn physical keyboard. That is the only reason I want the BlackBerry. I am willing to pay big bucks for a quirky, unreliable phone I can at least input data into (coming to you from my Priv).

 

[the_boon]

Easy for you to say "get rid of the keyboard" ...I have very soft fingertips and using a touch screen is the most frustrating thing imaginable. I was in charge of telecommunications for a company.We had over 200 various phones and I used them all so don't try tell me that one flavor is better than another when it comes to keyboards. I want my damn physical keyboard. That is the only reason I want the BlackBerry. I am willing to pay big bucks for a quirky, unreliable phone I can at least input data into (coming to you from my Priv).

And obviously it comes as no surprise that every BlackBerry that didn't have a keyboard failed hard.

There is real lack of form factor variety these days.

The PKB doesn't HAVE to take up "precious screen real estate", if it's implemented as a slider/swiveler, or an add-on accessory.

 

[the_boon]

The market chose to leave the keyboard back in what...2009? I don't think it was that much of marketing, but the consumer choosing to move on.

Actually, it was more towards 2012.

And back then, keyboard phones were very thick, didn't look sleek, and had tiny screens, that's why people gladly moved to Samsung Galaxy's and iPhones.

But today? Screens are as big as they can possibly be on a typical slab. They already peaked in this regard, WQHD+ with 120Hz? It's not gonna get better than that.. So now, bringing back an "old" idea such as a PKB isn't necessarily a bad thing, if it's cleverly implemented and in a way that doesn't compromise screen size.

I don't know why tech fans don't demand more from manufacturers and are happy to be getting the same piece of glass every year, only notable difference having one more camera slapped on the back.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

You have a point in that regard. People who are now working from home may use their laptops/computers for work purposes. When I was working from home, I used both my phone and Chromebook to answer work emails; but still did the bulk of lengthier emails on my Chromebook.

Now that you can get lightweight and small laptops like a Chromebook, it's easier to keep work "close" to you. Having your phone for work-related purposes is still super convenient, but as you've said, people are using technology differently than they did ten years ago. I have mixed feelings.

I use Dex or a wireless keyboard for longer pieces of work. Even with my phone or on the iPad or chromebook. If I am attaching files the iPad is no good. iOS still doesn't let you send documents through their email.

 

[Laura Knotek]

BlackBerry phones are for sophisticated professionals that pride themselves on being different, making money, and are unique.

This phone is not for all those that follow the same old glass screen design with 20 cameras. I mean that is the only unique feature to 99% of phones these days... # of camera lenses. Be unique, build a phone out of a Swiss army knife collection, install a tray mounted wallet, etc. Motorola seems to be thinking in the right terms of foldable phones.

How about a foldable blackberry with physical qwerty key board. Small enough to fit in pocket and durable.

BlackBerry is for the elite megastars, not followers.

Sorry apple boy.

We've seen how the "tools, not toys" slogan didn't work for Blackberry.

Also, I am a woman, and I've never owned an Apple device.

 

[the_boon]

We've seen how the "tools, not toys" slogan didn't work for Blackberry.

Also, I am a woman, and I've never owned an Apple device.

This slogan was idiotic and only further ridiculed BlackBerry for being so out of touch with reality.

The Android powered KEYone came to the scene 5 years too late, it should have immediately followed the last Bold in 2012, and launched concurrently with a slider.
From thereon, just like Samsung has their Galaxy S and Note line and keeps them consistent, we could have had a "KEY" and a "Slide" iteration every year.

But no, they decided to dumb billions into BB10 instead.

 

[anon(50597)]

I was very pleased adapting back to the Tactile KB and don't miss typing on glass at all! Pricing of flagships have gotten ToTaLY ridiculous and a good balance of price/performance will make for success!

There are many affordable devices now that bring value and an excellent experience.

 

[anon(50597)]

BlackBerry phones are for sophisticated professionals that pride themselves on being different, making money, and are unique.

This phone is not for all those that follow the same old glass screen design with 20 cameras. I mean that is the only unique feature to 99% of phones these days... # of camera lenses. Be unique, build a phone out of a Swiss army knife collection, install a tray mounted wallet, etc. Motorola seems to be thinking in the right terms of foldable phones.

How about a foldable blackberry with physical qwerty key board. Small enough to fit in pocket and durable.

BlackBerry is for the elite megastars, not followers.

Sorry apple boy.

This is the funniest thing I've read in here in a long time. Thank you for the laugh!

 

[the_boon]

There are many affordable devices now that bring value and an excellent experience.

It doesn't matter if you take an entry level $200 Nokia phone or a flagship $1300 Note 20 Ultra.
As far as typing go, it'll pretty much be the same exact thing

 

[anon(50597)]

It doesn't matter if you take an entry level $200 Nokia phone or a flagship $1300 Note 20 Ultra.
As far as typing go, it'll pretty much be the same exact thing

I was making a general statement about not needing a flagship phone. I think people are starting to get away from them.
I certainly think this company needs to stay in the affordable category or they don't have a prayer.

 

[the_boon]

Ah I see, yes the upper mid-range seems to be good enough for most.

As for the price point they need to have in order to have some level of success, I really don't know.

Some wouldn't want to see themselves spending more than $300 for a "messaging/email phone", others don't want a half assed Berry and are willing to put down $800-$1000 but it's gotta be top of the line in every way.

As far as form factors go, I don't know what would be more successful. A Classic type device that's about the size of the KEY2, or a Priv style slider.
The slider will naturally be more complex to manufacture therefore more expensive at retail.

We're not gonna be getting the perfect "flagship killer" slider for $399 lol

 

[anon(50597)]

Ah I see, yes the upper mid-range seems to be good enough for most.

As for the price point they need to have in order to have some level of success, I really don't know.

Some wouldn't want to see themselves spending more than $300 for a "messaging/email phone", others don't want a half assed Berry and are willing to put down $800-$1000 but it's gotta be top of the line in every way.

As far as form factors go, I don't know what would be more successful. A Classic type device that's about the size of the KEY2, or a Priv style slider.
The slider will naturally be more complex to manufacture therefore more expensive at retail.

We're not gonna be getting the perfect "flagship killer" slider for $399 lol

I don't know either. It's going to be a niche device either way and they're going to need to find a way to manufacture it cheaply but make a profit. No one has been able to figure it out yet, thus my continued doubt that it will ever be sustainable.