Quite a few of us expats, along with many Spanish nationals, have Blackberry smartphones.
Setting up with PAYG for the BIS in Spain can sometimes be initially more expensive than with other smartphones, as it requires a special service (and the cheaper service providers often don’t offer this), but once set up, using a Blackberry for collecting emails, notices and messages is at most times cheaper than your average smartphone, as the Blackberry Internet Service works upon highly compressed data.

However, Blackberry users may not have this advantage much longer.

RIM (Research in Motion) is in serious financial difficulty and the launching of the newest Blackberry OS - Blackberry 10 - is being delayed indefinitely.
Talks of millions being lost daily and of a takeover are in the air…

Why am I posting this here?

Well, I like using my Blackberry and, against other smartphones you can use in Spain, it does appear to use much less data (and therefore costs me less).

But the ongoing talk about the troubles with RIM is not exactly inspiring confidence - to Blackberry fans and to potential new users.
This could make a situation whereby less Blackberries are sold (and of course, Apple and the Android market take full advantage).

If an Android supplier takes over RIM, I see a time in the not too distant future where owning a Blackberry will have no real advantage and new models will become complete Android copies.

Any thoughts from Blackberry fans here?

Not a Blackberry fan, nor indeed a smartphone fan but…

It struck me that if one is effectively forking out over 450? for the latest all singing, all dancing, all the bells and whistles, smartphone that probably costs a mere 50? to produce in some Taiwanese / Chinese / Filipino / Malaysian sweatshop it’s not something that you are going to do every year… rather one will use it til it breaks (unless of course one is taken in by all the hype and advertising “You simply must have this” “Your life is empty without this” “You are a loser if you don’t have this” etc etc…
The problem is of course then that the manufacturers have an ever decreasing market.

There are too many manufacturers producing too many versions of what is basically the same item (Samsung this, Samsung that; Blackberry this, Blackberry that, Apple this, Apple that; Nokia this Nokia that, to name but four, too many competing operating systems and the customer is constantly bombarded with very heavy commercials from mobile phone companies.

It is my prediction that ultimately Blackberry will go under, will probably taken over and asset stripped by Microsoft; Microsoft’s Windows phones will also fail in due course, Nokia sales have fallen worldwide by 75% over the last couple of years so they too need to take a long hard look at their future.

One will, I predict, be left with Android (and probably just Samsung) v. Apple.

Its my contention that Apple always grossly overcharged for their products (Computers, Iphones, Ipads, and Ipods) and used the gullible punters as guinea pigs to field trial new variants that they produce long before the development program is complete. As the recession bites even further into peoples disposable income, Apple too will come under pressure from Android. If Andoid manufacturers don’t get too greedy in what is becoming a diminishing market they could eventually be Top Dog.

When you get right down to it, the average punter doesn’t need all the bells and whistles; first and foremost to me at any rate, its a bloody phone!

The thing is, Blackberry was never just a phone.  It was originally set up with business people in mind and BBM was a great (free) way to contact others in the same business.  Employers also found Blackberry useful to contact their employees out of hours.
One of the reasons that Blackberry caught on with the general phone-buying public was the qwerty keyboard, which made texting and messaging so much easier (and faster). Add to this, the ability to receive emails via your phone and Blackberry had a very popular product.

Apple certainly thought so, as their early work on the iPhone was a way to compete with the popularity of Blackberry.

RIM was set up by a small group of Canadian techs who wanted to build a phone and a mobile operating system they could be proud of. You could, I suppose, say the same thing about Apple in days long gone by.  Samsung, I think less so.

As to using the gullible punters as guinea pigs to field trial new variants, I do agree in the case of the big names in smartphones. And I would say that some later Blackberry phones have been put on the market before the operating system had been fully tested in house, but good communications with Blackberry users have rectified these problems and free upgrades have always followed as swiftly as possible.

I would say that the reason the Blackberry OS 10 has been so delayed is that RIM are doing everything they can to get this OS right. But this obviously does not sit well with shareholders and those who see the iPhone and Galaxy S111 moving streaks ahead.

The problem is, at a time when smartphone companies appear to have their users as testers for a new product, in house testing delays to Blackberry 10 have been high among the factors putting RIM at risk. Ironic really, when RIM is actually trying to think of their customers, whilst other smartphone companies appear to be thinking purely of profits.

Hear, hear, Foxbat!!

“.....unless of course one is taken in by all the hype and advertising ?You simply must have this? ?Your life is empty without this? ?You are a loser if you don?t have this? etc etc?
“

And don’t get me started about roaming charges (I have to do quite a bit of roamin’)

Patricia

Campana - 01 July 2012 06:51 PM

Hear, hear, Foxbat!!

“.....unless of course one is taken in by all the hype and advertising ?You simply must have this? ?Your life is empty without this? ?You are a loser if you don?t have this? etc etc?
“

And don’t get me started about roaming charges (I have to do quite a bit of roamin’)

Patricia

Of course, what Foxbat didn’t say was that he has recently purchased a smartphone 😊

But I do agree that roaming charges are extortionate.
That’s why I have two SIM cards for my Blackberry.  One to use in Spain and one to use in the UK.

Apple’s iOS and hardware departments are still employing folks who have a reverence for great, simple, elegant designs that merge technology with our understanding of the human psyche to create devices that are suitably ahead of the rest of the pack or creating entirely new markets. I know these guys - Apple is not the same as a Samsung or Philips or Nokia.

And I’d say it’s not necessarily about one must simply having a smartphone, but it’s certainly helpful to have access to GPS maps, email, games, my entire music collection and movie collection and any of a thousand ways to contact my family from anywhere in the world from a device that fits in my pocket. 😉

The Expatriator - 02 July 2012 09:18 PM

Apple’s iOS and hardware departments are still employing folks who have a reverence for great, simple, elegant designs that merge technology with our understanding of the human psyche to create devices that are suitably ahead of the rest of the pack or creating entirely new markets. I know these guys - Apple is not the same as a Samsung or Philips or Nokia.

Yes, I thought that could well be the case, similar to the tech guys behind Blackberry, they build and work on operating systems because they actually enjoy doing so, but as I am not an iPhone user I wasn’t sure.
I would certainly agree that this doesn’t appear to be the case with companies like Samsung and Nokia.

The Expatriator - 02 July 2012 09:18 PM

And I’d say it’s not necessarily about one must simply having a smartphone, but it’s certainly helpful to have access to GPS maps, email, games, my entire music collection and movie collection and any of a thousand ways to contact my family from anywhere in the world from a device that fits in my pocket. 😉

Totally agree, although I wouldn’t use a Blackberry to watch a movie from choice, as the screen of my particular model isn’t designed for that. But movies do look pretty good on a Samsung Galaxy s11, so I’m guessing that they look good on an iPhone too 😊

Just to add to Research in Motion’s problems…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18847176

Cut throat world out there…!

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But, on a slightly lighter note… this from the BBC News website 24th July…

Apple’s $8.8bn profits disappoint…

Apple made a net profit of $8.8bn in the three months ending in June, up 21% from a year earlier but lower than forecasts.

The consumer gadget and computer maker reported $35bn in sales, up from $28.6bn in 2011.

But sales of its iPod digital music player fell 10% while Mac computer sales flatlined, up just 2%.

It will pay shareholders a rare dividend of $2.65 per share on 16 August.

Apple - the world’s most valuable company - sold 26m iPhones. That is a rise of 28% but slower growth than many analysts had forecast.

By contrast, sales of Apple’s tablet computer, the iPad, rose 84% from the same period last year.

“We’re thrilled with record sales of 17 million iPads in the June quarter,” said Apples chief executive Tim Cook.

But, Apple’s forecast for sales in the three months ending in September was slightly lower than this quarter at $34bn.

Apple shares fell nearly 5% in after hours trading.

Ahh… Shame!  8.8 billion USD Profit in three months… nearly enough to pay off Valencia’s debt….

Yup, if you’re still hooked on your Blackberry you should take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re ready to grow up (there may be an app for that).

~Apple Preacher (who’s also Canadian RIP RIM)

Zania is quite happy with her Blackberry!

Foxbat is still trying to justify his ownership or need of any smartphone! (Especially the Nokia (Symbian!!!!!)(Lack of research on my part I’m afraid!)

Cant find an app for growing up however!

But, if its any consolation I’m not all that impressed with Microsoft’s marketing techniques either.

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foxbat - 25 July 2012 05:27 AM

Cant find an app for growing up however!

It would appear that the iPhone has the best app for that.
Along with one for smugness…  😉