BlackBerry Priv?
Oh BlackBerry... and here I thought the new CEO had at least some brains. But they have managed to screw up another attempt at regaining relevance.
While I never thought that choosing to deliver an Android device was a smart idea for the company, that sentiment was motivated primarily by the fact that the market was saturated and they were unlikely to succeed. That hasn't changed. But they have gone and somehow managed to make the situation even worse.
Firstly the name. I knew of the name earlier, but just decided not to comment. Priv? What the F is a Priv? I don't think they could have decided on a more obscure and pretentious sounding name if they tried. The name is an awkward half word that no one would be caught dead admitting to owning. This is all subjective of course. Clearly someone liked the name enough to curse this product with it. I truly have a hard time seeing the average liking the name though. And I think the name is actually bad enough to negatively affect sales. But, that would be impossible to prove.
If it were JUST the name they screwed up beyond the whole Android decision in general, then their sliver of hope may have been reduced to just a speck. But, alas, that isn't all that they screwed up. They went with a custom Android build.
BlackBerry, known for security has adopted the least secure mobile OS out there. And, by making it a custom OS all but guaranteed that it won't keep the pace with security patches from Google. Which at this point has more employees to deal with this crap than BB does.
At every step BlackBerry has completely ignored the things that made them popular in the first place. And this is them throwing the last of those right down the can. That this has happened under different CEO's tells me that it is the board of the company which is mental. They keep hiring the exact same kind of people who have absolutely no idea, most likely because they themselves strongly feel that the strengths of the company lie somewhere completely misaligned with reality.
LONG LONG ago when I first got a Windows Phone device I said BlackBerry should release a paid version of BBM on other platforms. At the time, nothing had all of the features and the reputation and their decline had only really started in earnest. People were paying for cross platform chat applications so at the time they could have put a price on it and probably have been very successful. YEARS later they released a freemium version well after the competition had already caught up. I'd say hindsight is 20/20, but I saw this AT THE TIME. It was THAT obvious.
Still long ago, but less long than that I recommended that BlackBerry build a Windows Phone device with a physical keyboard and work with Microsoft to integrate their enterprise security features to create a partnership that actually had a chance. I said this for a few reasons, at the time, BlackBerry's keyboards were still admired, as was their enterprise security. But the brand was now in the gutter and recovering on their own platform was unlikely (but not impossible). Android was already over saturated with OEMs and everyone knew only Samsung made money off Android. With Windows Phone still gaining share, this would have been a good time.
But, then CEO, Thorsten Heins decided instead to publicly insult Microsoft and Windows Phone and proceeded to release a full touch screen device running their own OS, delay the keyboard version AND charge more for it despite the industry expecting phones with smaller screens and keyboard to cost less than their full touch counterparts. Basically, they drove any chance of reviving BBOS into the ground.
So, really, all that is left is their enterprise security. The smart move? Whatever partner you choose, work WITH them. Their enterprise support either needed to be boltable on top of standard Android or an actual part of it. A custom OS is the worst possible way to go. With a custom OS it means fixes will always be blocked behind an extra layer. If Google fixes something, Priv users still need to wait for BlackBerry to update their custom OS and pass things along. And at this point we don't really know how dedicated they will be to that process.
This would have had a better chance as a device if they just shipped stock Android as they would at least be able to ensure that it could receive updates directly from Google which would put it ahead of most Android phones in terms of security.
As stated though, if they formed a partnership with Google (and it is hard to imagine that Google wouldn't be interested as many still frown upon their enterprise viability) they could get a lot of great free press from Google directly to help move devices. Alternatively, paid solutions that could work with stock Android would enable them to spread into the entire Android ecosystem without putting the burden on them to keep a custom OS up to date. They could still use a number of licensing techniques to enable these things for free to those who own BB hardware.
Lastly, going Android, they should have done 2 devices again. Or at least, re-released their last full touch device with Android. In the Android world a lot of apps are best experienced with a larger more rectangular screen and many who love BB keyboards may still opt for another vendor based on that alone.
The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions. Custom Android OSs can theoretically be used to improve upon the Android base. But, to date, no one has managed to make one that stands the test of time. And while I'll wager BBs customizations are well intentioned, I don't think that they will buck this trend.
So, it isn't that I hate BlackBerry or anything like that. But very few companies have made so many missteps that were so obvious ahead of time. I can't cheer for this device. It is (in my mind at least) abhorrent and idiotic. I hope it isn't the last chance for them. It truly would be sad to lose such a business in general, let alone one so close to home.
Oh... and the final nail in the Priv's coffin is the price. They really needed a phone that could be gotten for $0 on a contract. At $410 CAD on a 2 year contract or $890 off contract at Telus this is lunacy. Entry level Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Edge phones can be gotten cheaper. I mentioned price last however because I feel like it wouldn't have mattered given the other problems facing this device. Price is what will drive off even the devotees which wouldn't have been enough to save it anyway.
While I never thought that choosing to deliver an Android device was a smart idea for the company, that sentiment was motivated primarily by the fact that the market was saturated and they were unlikely to succeed. That hasn't changed. But they have gone and somehow managed to make the situation even worse.
Firstly the name. I knew of the name earlier, but just decided not to comment. Priv? What the F is a Priv? I don't think they could have decided on a more obscure and pretentious sounding name if they tried. The name is an awkward half word that no one would be caught dead admitting to owning. This is all subjective of course. Clearly someone liked the name enough to curse this product with it. I truly have a hard time seeing the average liking the name though. And I think the name is actually bad enough to negatively affect sales. But, that would be impossible to prove.
If it were JUST the name they screwed up beyond the whole Android decision in general, then their sliver of hope may have been reduced to just a speck. But, alas, that isn't all that they screwed up. They went with a custom Android build.
BlackBerry, known for security has adopted the least secure mobile OS out there. And, by making it a custom OS all but guaranteed that it won't keep the pace with security patches from Google. Which at this point has more employees to deal with this crap than BB does.
At every step BlackBerry has completely ignored the things that made them popular in the first place. And this is them throwing the last of those right down the can. That this has happened under different CEO's tells me that it is the board of the company which is mental. They keep hiring the exact same kind of people who have absolutely no idea, most likely because they themselves strongly feel that the strengths of the company lie somewhere completely misaligned with reality.
LONG LONG ago when I first got a Windows Phone device I said BlackBerry should release a paid version of BBM on other platforms. At the time, nothing had all of the features and the reputation and their decline had only really started in earnest. People were paying for cross platform chat applications so at the time they could have put a price on it and probably have been very successful. YEARS later they released a freemium version well after the competition had already caught up. I'd say hindsight is 20/20, but I saw this AT THE TIME. It was THAT obvious.
Still long ago, but less long than that I recommended that BlackBerry build a Windows Phone device with a physical keyboard and work with Microsoft to integrate their enterprise security features to create a partnership that actually had a chance. I said this for a few reasons, at the time, BlackBerry's keyboards were still admired, as was their enterprise security. But the brand was now in the gutter and recovering on their own platform was unlikely (but not impossible). Android was already over saturated with OEMs and everyone knew only Samsung made money off Android. With Windows Phone still gaining share, this would have been a good time.
But, then CEO, Thorsten Heins decided instead to publicly insult Microsoft and Windows Phone and proceeded to release a full touch screen device running their own OS, delay the keyboard version AND charge more for it despite the industry expecting phones with smaller screens and keyboard to cost less than their full touch counterparts. Basically, they drove any chance of reviving BBOS into the ground.
So, really, all that is left is their enterprise security. The smart move? Whatever partner you choose, work WITH them. Their enterprise support either needed to be boltable on top of standard Android or an actual part of it. A custom OS is the worst possible way to go. With a custom OS it means fixes will always be blocked behind an extra layer. If Google fixes something, Priv users still need to wait for BlackBerry to update their custom OS and pass things along. And at this point we don't really know how dedicated they will be to that process.
This would have had a better chance as a device if they just shipped stock Android as they would at least be able to ensure that it could receive updates directly from Google which would put it ahead of most Android phones in terms of security.
As stated though, if they formed a partnership with Google (and it is hard to imagine that Google wouldn't be interested as many still frown upon their enterprise viability) they could get a lot of great free press from Google directly to help move devices. Alternatively, paid solutions that could work with stock Android would enable them to spread into the entire Android ecosystem without putting the burden on them to keep a custom OS up to date. They could still use a number of licensing techniques to enable these things for free to those who own BB hardware.
Lastly, going Android, they should have done 2 devices again. Or at least, re-released their last full touch device with Android. In the Android world a lot of apps are best experienced with a larger more rectangular screen and many who love BB keyboards may still opt for another vendor based on that alone.
The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions. Custom Android OSs can theoretically be used to improve upon the Android base. But, to date, no one has managed to make one that stands the test of time. And while I'll wager BBs customizations are well intentioned, I don't think that they will buck this trend.
So, it isn't that I hate BlackBerry or anything like that. But very few companies have made so many missteps that were so obvious ahead of time. I can't cheer for this device. It is (in my mind at least) abhorrent and idiotic. I hope it isn't the last chance for them. It truly would be sad to lose such a business in general, let alone one so close to home.
Oh... and the final nail in the Priv's coffin is the price. They really needed a phone that could be gotten for $0 on a contract. At $410 CAD on a 2 year contract or $890 off contract at Telus this is lunacy. Entry level Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Edge phones can be gotten cheaper. I mentioned price last however because I feel like it wouldn't have mattered given the other problems facing this device. Price is what will drive off even the devotees which wouldn't have been enough to save it anyway.
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