BlackBerry Classic are they kidding?

[Insomniator]

http://www.cnet.com/products/blackberry-classic/

Who is buying these things? Work gives out Bold's and they are embarrassing and frustrating to use. I literally see no advantage to them at all... its been years since a physical keyboard was faster then touch on these devices and the battery life isn't even any better despite the small screen. Anyone with any 'pull' immediately requests an iPhone or Android phone.

Seriously, can BB just give up already please.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think its smart. They realized they missed the boat on iPhone-like phones. Their dream of breaking into the main consumer market has been shattered.

This simply allows them service those are still untrusting of onscreen keyboards. Seems like once a month we get someone in here wanting a qwerty phone.

 

[bearxor]

Yeah this is actually one of the best moves they can make.

In my last job, I had executives that wanted only BB. They tried a Z10 and got rid of it in a couple of days. The Q10's lasted longer but they're still not happy with them.

Give them some more buttons back and refocus. It's smart. I'm with poofy. They've missed the boat and they're accepting that they missed the boat. There's plenty of life left in the market that they've decided to focus on.

 

[luv2liv]

not gonna lie. i love blackberries.
no other phones let people txt and drive at the same time. you can type on berries blind folded.

 

[poofyhairguy]

no other phones let people txt and drive at the same time.

"Ok Google, text wife I will be home late."

Works like a charm while driving.

 

[Belegost]

not gonna lie. i love blackberries.
no other phones let people txt and drive at the same time. you can type on berries blind folded.

That should be their new ad campaign: "A keyboard so good you can drive blindfolded!"

Seems fitting given the company leadership has been driving blindfolded for years now.

 

[lopri]

To be fair, though, it's not just when driving. I could send texts with the phone inside a jacket pocket. If you want to send texts privately (in a public place), you could do so with physical keyboards.

 

[routerguy]

http://www.cnet.com/products/blackberry-classic/

Who is buying these things?

Professionals that want the best device for communication and security.

Work gives out Bold's and they are embarrassing and frustrating to use. I literally see no advantage to them at all... its been years since a physical keyboard was faster then touch on these devices and the battery life isn't even any better despite the small screen. Anyone with any 'pull' immediately requests an iPhone or Android phone.

Seriously, can BB just give up already please.

I have the opposite experience. I know quite a few people that want to go back to using a Blackberry (primarily for the keyboard). I don't know if you've tried BB10 but it is probably the best mobile OS I have ever used. I think there is still a market out there for people that want an actual work phone and not a toy. It seems like Blackberry finally realized this and the Classic is the result.

 

[mmntech]

BlackBerry has a small but die hard fan base. I know folks where you couldn't pry it from their cold, dead hands. I think BlackBerry Inc has finally accepted that they're not going to take the smartphone market by storm anymore, and they're now just making phones to cater to their niche. Casual users who want a keyboard instead of a touch screen, and businesses who need additional security features.

Sad thing is, they actually did come out with a very nice touch screen phone, the Z series.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think BlackBerry Inc has finally accepted that they're not going to take the smartphone market by storm anymore

 

[Deeko]

I still absolutely hate touch screen keyboards, and you will never convince me otherwise. If someone made a more modern clone of the Dell Venue Pro I would sell all of my devices and buy it no matter what OS it ran.

I actually like the looks of the Classic. The Bold 9900 was a phenomenal design - it was very well built, solid, and felt great in the hand. The Q10, on the other hand, was just kinda clunky and plasticky. It looks like with the Classic, they're reverting back to the build style of the Bold - a wise choice. Also, the new BBOS comes with the Amazon Android app store which is way ahead of the Blackberry App World. It has most everything I need.

That said, I'm disappointed in the internals. The screen resolution is fine, but the processor is underpowered. It's the same SoC running the Q10, which is nearly two years old, and definitely feels sluggish with Android 4+ apps. Too bad, if they'd made the internals a bit more beefy I might have picked one up.

 

[gmaster456]

I actually think it looks nice.

 

[cbrunny]

Seriously, can BB just give up already please.

Why would you actually want to see them fail? Doesn't seem like there is an upside to Blackberry closing up shop. They're not hurting anyone.

the BB is the best professional device, hands down. It isn't even a contest. It is absolutely useless and pure garbage for anything other than this though.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'm sorta intrigued by the passport. Gotta give it a go sometime...I miss a physical keyboard sometimes.

 

[midwestfisherman]

I ordered 2!

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

When I first saw this phone I also thought it was ridiculous. You're not alone OP. But I guess there's a niche.

 

[Eug]

Professionals that want the best device for communication and security.

I have the opposite experience. I know quite a few people that want to go back to using a Blackberry (primarily for the keyboard). I don't know if you've tried BB10 but it is probably the best mobile OS I have ever used. I think there is still a market out there for people that want an actual work phone and not a toy. It seems like Blackberry finally realized this and the Classic is the result.

Funny you should mention that. My workplace had a requirement for Blackberrys (Blackberries?) and would not support either iOS or Android.

So all the professionals just said screw you, and bought their own iPhones out of pocket, and paid for the cell plans out of pocket too. Eventually IT was forced to support iOS. Then another batch of professionals just said screw you, and bought Android phones with their own money. Eventually, IT was forced to support Android.

Just about none of the professionals here use Blackberry anymore. Now, this was before BB10 landed, but by that time Blackberry had become completely irrelevant, so BB10 did absolutely nothing to help Blackberry's cause here. In fact, I don't think IT even supports it.

 

[Insomniator]

Funny you should mention that. My workplace had a requirement for Blackberrys (Blackberries?) and would not support either iOS or Android.

So all the professionals just said screw you, and bought their own iPhones out of pocket, and paid for the cell plans out of pocket too. Eventually IT was forced to support iOS. Then another batch of professionals just said screw you, and bought Android phones with their own money. Eventually, IT was forced to support Android.

Just about none of the professionals here use Blackberry anymore. Now, this was before BB10 landed, but by that time Blackberry had become completely irrelevant, so BB10 did absolutely nothing to help Blackberry's cause here. In fact, I don't think IT even supports it.

Exact same thing happened at my last job, and is happening now. I don't even know what version my BB has, I just know the keyboard is cumbersome and the screen is too small to view a useful amount of information at once. I can text while driving or with the phone in my pocket?! Sweet!

 

[3chordcharlie]

Exact same thing happened at my last job, and is happening now. I don't even know what version my BB has, I just know the keyboard is cumbersome and the screen is too small to view a useful amount of information at once. I can text while driving or with the phone in my pocket?! Sweet!

If you don't know what version you have, it's very unlikely that it's BB10.

BB10 inbox is pretty unreal for managing communication and social media. It's not even a contest.

Screen size is an issue for physical keyboard phones (obviously). App support for android is pretty good, even on the square-screened stuff.

The classic might be my next phone, if not it is likely to be the passport.

 

[Eug]

A friend of mine is an exec for a large telco. He got a Z10 just to be a guinea pig. (He doesn't need to use BB10. He just thought it would be interesting to give it a shot.)

In general he likes the OS, and likes the phone (esp. the size), but says he would not recommend BB10 for a corporate IT rollout. Too buggy, and too poorly supported.

 

[Oyeve]

I love BB devices! I trade them in all the time for smartphones! IE, I traded a Bold and got 200 off my Note 4.

 

[zokudu]

If it was cheap I would give it a shot. I don't hate blackberry but I doubt I would spend any money on a device from them now.

 

[zerocool84]

Too little too late. Consumers have moved on, those small amount of die hard Blackberry fans can't save the company.

Also Blackberry already lost a ton of the business side to Apple and Android. So many companies switched over because Blackberry took so long to catch up. I don't see them all just all of a sudden going back since it's difficult for companies to upgrade computer operating systems let alone switch phones again.

Sorry Blackberry but you took forever to try and get the consumer market back so you let go of the business sector. Too late now to win it all back now. They can definitely stick around but they will never be near the top like they were before.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It is kinda like a Jolla Phone.

 

[smitbret]

http://www.cnet.com/products/blackberry-classic/

Who is buying these things? Work gives out Bold's and they are embarrassing and frustrating to use. I literally see no advantage to them at all... its been years since a physical keyboard was faster then touch on these devices and the battery life isn't even any better despite the small screen. Anyone with any 'pull' immediately requests an iPhone or Android phone.

Seriously, can BB just give up already please.

Except that you'd be wrong.

My 9 year old is spending Xmas with her Mom so I dug out my old Blackberry 9700 and activated it on my account so she would have a phone while she was gone. Charged it on Monday and still had 30% battery life on Wed night. Then while entering contact info for relatives and friends that she is allowed to call, my mind was just blown at how much faster and more accurate the physical keyboard was than the touch screens we have been using for the last 2-3 years.

You sound insecure about your phone. I think you should worry about bigger problems.