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BlackBerry (BBRY) loses another big enterprise customer as Home Depot is reportedly switching to...
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Friday, February 8, 9:35 PM ETBlackBerry (BBRY) loses another big enterprise customer as Home Depot is reportedly switching to Apple's (AAPL) iOS for all store managers and corporate-level employees. The move will have the company swapping out about 10K Blackberrys for iPhones. At this point the approximately 60K Motorola phones used by floor employees will not be affected.
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BB10 is the beginning of an entirely new paradigm.
"Ignoring the fact that the Z10 has got a long way to go to catch up with the likes of Apple’s App Store, the new gesture based control system is fantastic. Everything is a single digit swipe away. Swipe down: I get system settings toggles. Swipe right: and I get the Hub which contains all my notifications. Swipe left: apps and folders. When I’m on the recent apps screen I can scroll up and down and easily close any apps I no longer need. Although the iPhone has always been regarded as being easy to use, BlackBerry has trumped it with BB10. There’s no back button, or home button. It’s all done with a simple gesture. While it did take me a little time to get accustomed to the new way of doing things, I soon find myself trying to dismiss apps on my iPhone in the same way. In essence: BlackBerry has done the impossible, and made iOS seem complicated. So much so, that I’ve often been picking the Z10 up in before the iPhone to achieve tasks like checking email, Facebook and Twitter. It just feels more natural."
BlackBerry Z10 vs. iPhone 5 – Hardware Comparison
http://bit.ly/12AunQi
Top of their market and not going anywhere anytime soon !
"BlackBerry Z10, you were a piece of crap, but you were my piece of crap. And I'll miss you. Whenever I pick up my iPhone from now on, I'll be looking at a solid, functional, well-designed piece of hardware with working apps and the ability to outlive a green banana. But I'll be thinking of you."
http://nym.ag/WXcLaB
By AppleInsider Staff
In a tongue-in-cheek review published on Friday, New York Magazine tells the story of a demo BlackBerry Z10 which, after multiple software issues including numerous crashes, died after only four days of testing.
http://bit.ly/VKQYTc
“Over the next month and a half, the Australian Department of Treasury will ditch its fleet of BlackBerry mobile phones in favour of iPhone 5s, according to chief information officer Peter Alexander.”
Well, we knew this kind of thing was on the way, after the Defence Signals Directorate finally approved iOS devices for use in April last year. It was only a matter of time. Right now, it seems pretty likely the attitude at BlackBerry HQ must be a little like that at Vodafone: Forget about trying to get new customers; the company probably has as much as it can handle just trying desperately to keep the ones it already has.
http://bit.ly/YM1ZGp
BB is not dead because they make sub-par phones (the 10 by all accounts is a great phone), they are dead because they are a one trick pony that is 5 years behind AAPL. Nobody wants a phone, even one that has marginally "better" features, that does not have hundreds of thousands of apps, does not connect to their tablet/laptop, and does not have readily available tech support (genius bar).
BB has been written off in most people's minds - even if they make a good phone, people won't pick it up to give it a shot. Most people associate the brand with clunky devices that are boring and can't do very much - this plus being so far behind on the app store and cloud will do them in.
What BlackBerry 10 brings is INNOVATION beyond Mobility. What iOS is doing is driving innovation and technology back. iOS has been hindering advancement by far. I have a lot more respect for Android versus iOS. At least with Android, it can be pushed further to better itself. iOS is maxed out and old.
Eventually people and corporations will see though Apple's marketing and realize iOS is actually steps backwards and un-innovative.
BlackBerry 10 is here, the new king and as of late all these Apple Fanboys can't take it.
http://bit.ly/XuGwim
I am really surprised this isn't bigger news beefs up the security of iOS in a big way.
You should do your homework before commenting stupidity like that!
RIMM uses QNX... considered to be one of the finest real-time Unix OS on the planet. Not only that, but it also has been fully approved for U.S. government and DoD use... a certification that iOS and OS X only wishes it had.
Besides, iOS is practically nothing more than open-source OS. It's based on Mach OS which is a university pet project (micro kernel), also uses BSD code and GNU code. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE fan of open-source software, especially Linux, but hundreds of thousands of open-source developers and students made iOS and OS X... Apple simply put it together and slightly modified it by adding a custom UI on top of it (to name but one example). Sure it's a damn great OS and so is Mac OS X. But just know where they come from before you make claims that it's better than QNX.
http://bit.ly/VLTwjT
The new BB will struggle to get through even 1 day and RIM will not be fixing it (maybe there is no fix). Its other gimmicks are mediocre - camera is actually worst of all phones reviewed at gizmodo, there are no good apps and the few Android ports are garbage/slow apps.
Such a shame, there's not much reason to upgrade from current BBs. Please bring back the old BB OS, at least those would last until the afternoon.
"Ignoring the fact that the Z10 has got a long way to go to catch up with the likes of Apple’s App Store,"
That's ignoring quite a bit. How about also ignoring that BBRY no longer has a lock on the enterprise market and it is BYOD now and never going back. Also, one must ignore the non-existence of Blackberry stores and world-class customer support.
And you'd be shocked. People in the USA are actually open minded. Well, not everyone. That is fine though, not everyone is capable of looking at things objectively and without bias.
you have to compare the BB10 with iphone5s galaxy 4 and the current htc dna
I stand by my prediction BBKY stock price wise will move up in the near term but will drop in 6 months once the future is more clear to everyone.
BB is not a fraud
Did you know that desktop software is available for Mac OS X and Windows that allows syncing and backing up any BlackBerry? Are you aware that music in Apple iTunes can be synced and loaded into a BlackBerry (other than older rights restricted music)?
Does the new BlackBerry Z10 look like older BlackBerry phones? Of the 78 million existing BlackBerry users of older devices, what percentage would you expect to adopt the newer Z10 and Q10?
RIM, er.. I mean BlackBerry is a total reboot .. new look, new OS, new UI, new hardware, new name and new ticker .. there is really zero track record for the new BB.
Even if someone did love their old Blackbery, this new thing is so different it may as well be an iPhone or Galaxy for that matter.
BB may make a better phone than Apple, but that is not the point. The point I am making is that BB is so far behind in the App store, cloud, tech support, etc... They do not have a competitive total offering (tablets, laptops, phones, app store, music, etc...), which is becoming increasingly important to consumers.
The only people I read who say that BB is better than apple are people long BBRY (LYogi) or technical IT guys who can site a thousand software reasons (security, etc...). At the same time, consumers are obsessed with their iPhones because they "just work" and "make their lives easier." What Apple gets is that it is not about the best technicals, it is about the user experience, simplicity, and intuitive nature of their devices. The devices are made for ordinary knuckleheads like myself who just want it to be easy and work. When viewed through this prism (which clearly most consumers do), apple is so far ahead in the key areas - cloud, app store, itunes, genius bar, etc... - that I struggle to see anyone but GOOG catching up. I hope that BBRY pulls a rabbit out of their hat to become relevant again because this would inject competitive innovation, drive prices down, and provide options for consumers. I just don't see it happening.
full disclosure: I am long AAPL with 33% of my portfolio at 453 avg price because even if BBRY does well this company is really cheap right now.
Until client enter in a Z10.
Show d product ad he liked via youtube flash vid.
Noticed guy got a faster browser.
Keyboard typed blazingly fast too!
As client make one quick peek to get the no. of tweets, posts, emails, bbms/vid waiting.
Dawned on him Z10 multitasks much better even in one hand!
Now manager beside thinking he'd be much productive if he have 1.
But told client theirs got tons of apps.
Client respond his BB can run/play them, pointing to his kid playing android/ios games.
At final transact, client told them he'd like to pay via NFC.
Oh well, they can always switch back but someone has likely signed their own termination they just don't know it yet.
Also: I am or should say was a fan of Apple. I still use a macbook products, apple TV, and have a 4th generation iPod touch. I also own a playbook and use a bold 9900 as my primary phone. I've had that phone for three years now and I still like it. A lot. I have fun with my iPod but couldn't think of using it everyday to type the number of texts and emails that I must.
Owning the playbook has provided me an early glimpse as to the fluidity that QNX can offer. I like it. I totally see the potential in a gesture based OS. It is the future. That and I read in Canada national newspaper that RIM is in the top 10 worldwide for patents. There is a ton of Grey matter in Waterloo Ontario. BB10 is just the tip of the iceberg.
Also having owned and used ios6 on a daily basis I see it limitations. It feels maxed out. Apple is in big trouble.
I wholeheartedly agree that the market will reflect BBs true value but that it will take time. I sense there may yet be another dip in the stock price but long term Apple will yield to QNX and it's derivatives.
I am advising my family and friends to invest in BB and be patient.
How many companies use QNX? 100+
iOS is garbage. QNX is the future. Watch Home Depot, one of the board members will come across a Z10 and say What Have We Done?
Read. Research.
You all know you can make money from a product doing well? Right? You all know that?
QNX is a mission critical OS. iOS is not. BlackBerry's QNX has many partners including GM, Ford, Audio, NASA, Porche, etc.
QNX Partner Directory.
http://bit.ly/Z1KPII
Also Apple off to a great start lol. Go iOS Go lol.
AOL shutting down meeting service due to iOS 6.1 issues
http://bit.ly/YhMFiH
Can we finally put this nonesense to rest. It's getting old. The Z10 looks nothing like an iPhone and the Z10 looks much better anyway.
Though I have to admit it's kind of funny how iBots come to the defence of Apple despite iOS sucking real bad and is not in the same class as the superior QNX.
Anyone know what device management software Home Depot uses or will be using? It would be really funny if the author 'forgot' to mention that they use or will be using Blackberry Enterprise Service 10.
Talk about a waste of potential productivity.
Come to think of it ios will be understood to be the Morse code of mobile and will soon find its way into the museum as an important and successful trailblazer that reach its maximum potential.
Notice all the noise about giving the fruits of it back to the shareholders and commotion about voting rights?
The big boys know the writing is on the wall.
I've already converted several iPhone family members to the Z10. Had them try it. There reaction was WOW.......I WANT ONE NOW.
do you know what real time is?
there is no user function on a smartphone that is real time.
real time usualy means if you do not respond within a "very short" time period the system will "crash"
They basically do not know what to do anymore.
BB is here to stay!
This got to be the biggest security risk for an Enterprise, free access to internal apps. Hackers are going to have a field day, don't go trough the firewall, just jailbreak an iPhone and download a company apps and hack trough there and get the most important Business Intelligence.
Home depot has surely not done their due diligence and have not even considered the security risk.
Anyone know real purchase numbers of recently launched bby phones? Can't understand why numbers are not readily available unless they are less than expected.
Do the math, BB10 is here to stay and Apple, Google, Windows and others that do not like BB for some reason Know This.
BlackBerry broke there own sales records. That in itself speaks volume.
By the way, looking forward to the Z10 update coming before the US release.
Home Depot, I am dumping you as well! I will spend my money elsewhere.
Whatever, it's a very strange decision to make, at an even stranger time. Don't know why it's billed as BBRY "losing" anything, as Home Depot have long since paid for those old BBs they are (presumably) dumping. Just a little bit of bias apparent...
HomeDepot IS moving to iPhone, and having been planning to do so for the last year.
They just move slowly, BlackBerry10 was not on their radar because they don't need quality MDM, they aren't worried about Branch managers leaking corporate secrets accidentally.
Sucks that Branch managers are going to be forced to a single form factor, with zero options where BlackBerry gave them a few choices in form factor.
Good luck homedepot, but if they don't expand their consumer offerings so that I have a BlackBerry 10 app, I'll just shop at Lowes, or Rona for my needs
thanks
It just amazes me how companies who should be maximizing their ROI goes out and buys the most expensive phone which does less than what Samsung does.
We're far from the day when Apple was the only game in town. Home Depot could have signed a contract with Samsung to replace ALL their phones for half what it will cost them going with Apple. Plus Samsung has surpassed Apple in features and apps. I'm sure for a lot of employees, having the Note II would have been more practical to have a tiny iPhone screen (at half the price too).
These are business decisions by incompetent managers.
"Hey, if our employees look 'cool' using iPhones... maybe we'll attract more customers?"
Which also I would never suggest, I've not been happy with Google Apps for the past 3 years, and have been flirting with migrating to Office365, will cost slightly more per year but my trials with it with my primary employer makes me far more confident it is worth the cost over the terrible Google Apps service.
Android NEEDS google services to be functional, outside of Googles services it doesn't offer much, while Apple relies on app as well It isn't as reliant on Apples services as Android is on Googles. as a Corporate device I don't want my emails harvested and ads fed to to my users based on our corporate emails.
I don't want location tracking, and I want an OS that is consistent, iOS while it has less features, is also more stable than Android when deploying them to many users with a variety of skill sets.
HomeDepot has been planning the iOS migration long before we had a BlackBerry Z10 release schedule, They've been making iOS apps to be ready for deployment. I'm not a fan of their choice, but if you're moving from BlackBerry, iOS is the lesser of the evils available
I wouldn't agree that Android needs Google... isn't Amazon's Kindle an Android split... and it doesn't use the Google ecosystem?
As for myself, I'm a purist... when we talk about Internet/Cloud, I'm not tollerent to native apps/libs running behind the scenes like Office 365. Hell, it's a nice functional and complete product, but it's also a Microsoft lock in. For an individual I would maybe consider it, but for an entire company I would have second thoughts since the entire IT landscape is changing and Microsoft will be considerably less present.
"iOS while it has less features, is also more stable than Android"
I'm not too sure which parts you're referring to specifically and I do acknowledge that each will have their respective bugs. But you do realize that both practically share the same code? OS X and iOS borrows a ton of GNU code and a lot of BSD code. While Android is Linux (and GNU also). The only thing relatively different on Android is the Dalvik VM (that layer doesn't really exist on Apple OS's).
I am unaware if they require a gmail account to set up or not. and if they use Google services as their main services or if everything is custom by amazon.
For my comment on stability, Android hangs/crashes/force closes far more often than iOS does. It isn't the code, it is the execution.
I'd like to know what email service/cloud service you'd suggest that doesn't come with a lockin?
as my employer made the switch to Office365 and I've very much enjoyed it.
Where as I've never enjoyed GoogleApps, I paid for them because they were the only quality option at the time, and now I've got a big task to migrate away and laziness has prevented me from doing so, until my experience with Office365, now I am motivated for the improvements.
No if all the BB owners perished in the apocalypse then we would need to worry.
Interface with Microsoft Office
No satellite images in maps
No cloud ecosystem
No tablet that syncs through cloud or can be managed remotely to secure device.
Now you know why most Fortune 500 companies are switching to Apple.
Too little too late
"Documents To Go integration: Windows Phone has integrated mobile Office, but I find the Documents To Go product on BB 10 to offer more functionality with a better user interface. BlackBerry purchased DataViz last year and it is great to see the full version of Documents To Go, with Box and Dropbox storage access, on BB10 devices."
At the moment the work-around for Google Maps is much like when the Apple iPhone 5 launched and Google Maps was not available as an app. I currently use Google Maps often, though not in satellite view, though streetview comes in handy. So you bring up a very good point here, and it definitely is an issue for people who rely upon maps.
Enterprise users are important, but figures from Research In Motion/BlackBerry financial reports indicate that enterprise are not the majority of existing users. At the moment, Z10 sales are more likely to go to early adopters, or people who did not have a smartphone in the past. Available research indicates that many smartphone users do not upgrade that often. Sales projections for BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 are expected to be 5 million units per quarter. That's a fairly small sales volume compared to Apple and Samsung, and actually under quarterly sales of older BB7 devices, though actually better than Nokia Lumia. So with expectations small from analysts, the target to reach is fairly low.
BB10 who cares, only a few million candians
I believe in the human spirit for the ergo form of user friendliness (machine human interface?)...BB10 will become the business tool of choice and with a secure network that will maintain cyber security for all those ardent CIO's out there...
Let this one play out...Take care, Go BB
If they can't support a Canadian company
then i won't help support them
This is a true story. Many years ago I got into rental property and applied to HD for theit credit card. They turn me down. So I a Banc One credit card, and and purchase about $20K worth of material from HD. They then sent me a preapprove application. That didn't work so they call me offering whatever. Thats HD for you
a Canadian company I can't help support them.enough said.
The home depots loss.