Did we just wake up in an alternate universe? BlackBerry turns a profit BlackBerry actually made money in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2015, but the bigger picture for the ailing smartphone maker is far from rosy. The Canadian firm reported net income of $28m for the three months ending on February 28, compared to a loss of $423m for the same period a year ago. As a result, it was able to post …
If Ed was to walk on water, Paxman would dismiss it as being a gimmick. In the same way BlackBerry gets dismissed no matter what it does.
BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 is pretty good for what it does. At last we have coloured notifications out of the box, a more efficient Hub and a layout that makes better use of the available space. The basic messaging features are still as good as ever.
The problem is the hardware. The Passport is clever but gimmicky, the new Bold-a-like with the forgettable name is too big for what it does. Now a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact with OX 10.3.1...I'd buy that. But BlackBerry doesn't have the scale or the money to produce cutting edge hardware.
I hope they resolve that because once the remaining legacy users are upgraded they need something new. But the mobile phone system needs them, an independent player which doesn't do creepy tracking or try to upsell you an IT lifestyle.
"I don't think it's scale - BB are well capable of taken a large enough order to the usual OEMs and producing a flagship phone"
Samsung seem to have to make their "flagships" in the tens of millions. Sony sell a few million and lose money on them. HTC were losing money though I think they are now turning a small profit. I'm not sure that BlackBerry can, in fact, place large enough orders.
The problem is the hardware. The Passport is clever but gimmicky, the new Bold-a-like with the forgettable name is too big for what it does. Now a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact with OX 10.3.1...I'd buy that. But BlackBerry doesn't have the scale or the money to produce cutting edge hardware.
The Z30 is fabulous.
BlackBerry got slagged off a lot when it first came out, far too big everyone said. Now look at all the phablets everyone else is doing.
Runs a lot of Android apps. Plus a solid 2 day battery life.
I don't think anyone considered sane would expect anything from BB other than a slow (or perhaps not so slow) death. What I find interesting though is how quickly it has all happened. Within the space of 20 years BB has gone from nothing to a worldwide (or at least western) object of desire back to nothing. It makes you wonder if the same thing could happen to Apple as it feels to me like they have laregly the same sort of following although it's a broader base.
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