Black Berry's Open Letter to Its Customers and Partners

BlackBerry

To our valued customers, partners and fans,

You’ve no doubt seen the headlines about BlackBerry. You’re probably wondering what they mean for you as one of the tens of millions of users who count on BlackBerry every single day.

We have one important message for you:

You can continue to count on BlackBerry.

How do we know? We have substantial cash on hand and a balance sheet that is debt free.

We are restructuring with a goal to cut our expenses by 50 percent in order to run a very efficient, customer-oriented organization.

These are no doubt challenging times for us and we don’t underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges. We are making the difficult changes necessary to strengthen BlackBerry.

One thing we will never change is our commitment to those of you who helped build BlackBerry into the most trusted tool for the world’s business professional.

And speaking of those dramatic headlines, it’s important that we set the record straight on a few things.

Best in class productivity tool.

We have completely revamped our device portfolio this year with the launch of BlackBerry 10. We have four BlackBerry 10 devices – two all touch and two hybrid (touch and QWERTY) – and all are running the third update of our new platform. If what you care about most is getting things done – taking care of your business – we have the best range of devices for you. And we continue to offer the best mobile typing experience – no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Best in class security.

Governments all over the world, global corporations and businesses that simply cannot compromise on security choose and trust BlackBerry. Security is our heritage, and the industry recognizes that BlackBerry is the most secure when it comes to the device, server and, of course, our global data network. Have no doubt that you can continue to trust us to keep your communication safe and private.

Best in class enterprise mobility management.

We changed with the market, embracing BYOD because we understand that as iOS and Android devices become common in the workplace, businesses still need to manage all of these different platforms seamlessly and securely.

This is not a trivial task. While there are a number of startup companies that make bold claims, BlackBerry has more software engineers and the most resources dedicated to developing the most innovative solutions to address this complex challenge.

And our customers know it. Over the past quarter, our BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 server base grew from 19,000 to more than 25,000. Corporate clients are committed to deploying and testing the latest enterprise technology from BlackBerry. We are committed to evolving with our customers. That will never change.

Best in class mobile social network.

We are bringing the most engaging mobile messaging platform to all, with our BBM launch for Android and iPhone.

There are already around six million customers pre-registered to be notified of our roll out. This number is growing every day, and speaks to the tremendous opportunity we have to expand BBM beyond BlackBerry smartphones to make it the world’s largest mobile social network.

Yes, there is a lot of competition out there and we know that BlackBerry is not for everyone. That’s OK. You have always known that BlackBerry is different, that BlackBerry can set you apart. Countless world-changing decisions have been finalized, deals closed and critical communications made via BlackBerry. And for many of you that created a bond, a connection that goes back more than a decade.

We believe in BlackBerry – our people, our technology and our ability to adapt. More importantly, we believe in you. We focus every day on what it takes to make sure that you can take care of business.

You trust your BlackBerry to deliver your most important messages, so trust us when we deliver one of our own: You can continue to count on us.

Sincerely,
The BlackBerry Team

Thieves turn to Bluetooth to steal electronic gadgets

Lately there has been reports of thieves being on a burglary spree in Gaborone and surrounding. It is still puzzling to many of us just as to how do these crooks never miss their targets. Just recently my neighborhood was raided by thieves, and no house that had a PC or cellphone in it was spared! So many of us are wondering what is it they can do to avoid being targeted by thieves.

Well, have you thought about the capabilities and robustness of Bluetooth technology? 

Chances are that you never take off your laptop battery when you leave it in your house, or maybe you do not even remember the last time you checked your cellphone connectivity function status (your Bluetooth connectivity might be on). Some of us carry our laptops with us when leaving the house only to leave it in the car with the Bluetooth connectivity on! By doing so, you have not only turned into a prime target but you have made their work even more easy; they just need to carry a device that detect Bluetooth around parked cars instead of the hustle to jump over electric fancies and finding their ways around the neighborhood watch programs.   

Word has it that thieves are now using Bluetooth technology to identify houses and cars that have electronics devices such as laptops, plasma screens, cellphones etc. Please be sure to remove your laptop battery when you leave it in your house or car. Also always make sure that your Bluetooth connectivity status of your phone or plasma screen is off when you are not using it. By doing this you may just be able to break the thieves new winner's code!

Bosso ke mang? (Botswana Market Share)

 Competition in the mobile industry have become so rife and possibly at the highest level since the arrival of the new kid on the blog BTC BeMobile. The question “Bosso ke mang?” pops up from time to time on mobile technology experts’ and analysers’ minds as we await the BTA annual report for 2012. From the start line in the late nineties, there were two mobile service providers, namely Mascom wirelss and Vista Mobile who were breathing neck to neck and consequently the latter was later bought off by Orange Botswana, leaving Mascom to be the leading service provider.  Mascom has since been in the frontline, finishing at 57% of market share in 2010 while Orange Botswana came second at 37% and expectedly the new comers BTC BeMobile coming last with only 6% according to BTA March 2010 report.

Since then there have been some pushing and shoving in one of the smallest market space in Africa, with BeMobile coming very fast on the outside lane, investing heavily in marketing in an attempt to beat the two mobile giants to the top.  Among other  market strategies, BeMobile struck a deal to sponsor the elite local football league for an amount of 2 million. Also notable was the introduction of free calls on weekends for prepaid customers who use airtime worth P20 during the week by BeMobile. This no doubt sent shivers down the spines of Mascom and Orange. This aggressive strategy paid off as BTC BeMobile emerged to have gained more than 100% of their previous market share in March 2011, finishing at 14% and Orange Botswana dropping 3% to finish at 34%. The biggest loser here was mascom, losing 5% of their previous market share and finishing at 52%. In this respect,  bosso ke mang? Ke BeMobile!

The leader in the pack has since responded by introducing arguably the most lucrative cup in the history of football in the country, Mascom Top 8. It would appear that Mascom might have taken the statistics seriously as it stepped up its social responsibilities, among them being the Kitsong Centres, MyStar and participation in sports code across sports divide. If one ask me to put my head on the block, I would predict an increase in Mascom market share when BTA release the verdict.

SMS Technology solutions: a solution to stray livestock search in Botswana?

Farmers across the country may start bracing themselves for the release of one of the mobile SMS solutions that may be the answer to their search for lost or stray livestock more especially cattle. A product of 4Site Holdings company, the applications is at an advanced stage and may be released before end of winter season.

 How to use the application

The application is expected to be simple and easy to use such that anyone who is able to write and send a message on a mobile phone will be able to use it.

There we have it fellas! whats your take?

.       First, the farmer type in the keyword "Tshipi" (livestock brand) followed by his brand. ·         In the example above the farmer's brand is "AKZ". 2.       The farmer can now sends the sms to the number that shall be provided. In this example “Server” is just used for test purposes. The response indicate where the animal ve been impounded, the ear marks, the description and the brand. The farmer can now contact the location (council authorities)

USD 5.8 trillion Q1 profits for Samsung in this year!

In the face of woes for Black Berry, Samsung have projected US5.8 trillion in Q1 ($5.15 billion) which is reported to be nearly twice their profits in Q1 2011. According to GSM Arena, 60-70% of these of these numbers are expected to be from handset sales.

Will it also be a Bye Bye for Black Berry in Botswana too?

Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last?

 

171 comments, 19 called-out

+ Comment now

Just five years ago, “BlackBerry” was virtually synonymous with “smartphones.” It was well on its way to becoming a generic trademark, like Kleenex or Band-Aid, that would seemingly forever be associated with its entire sector. “For many, the Blackberry is a must-have gadget, a wireless hand-held computer that can send e-mail and make phone calls,” noted a 2005 NPR story on the “CrackBerry,” as some BlackBerry addicts referred to the device. (Incidentally, the story compared the BlackBerry to the Palm Treo, an equally popular device at the time.)

Today, however, Research In MotionLtd. (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, is a financial basket case that has come to symbolize just how turbulent life in the modern digital economy can be. On Thursday,RIM announced that it was laying off top execs as revenues continued to plummet and the firm’s stock pricehit its lowest mark since 2003. Industry analysts are lowering their projections for the firm and wondering if any corporate suitor—Microsoft is commonly mentioned—might be willing to step in and save the day by taking over the company.

Avoiding The BlackBerry Blues: Know When To Fire YourselfDane StanglerContributor

As a New York Times headline from earlier this year noted, “The BlackBerry [is] Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants,” joining the infamous ranks of theSony Walkman, the Palm Pilot, the Atari 2600 gaming console, and the Polaroid instant camera. The article noted that “Over the last year, RIM’s share price has plunged 75 percent. The company once commanded more than half of the American smartphone market. Today it has 10 percent.” Both metrics continue their downhill slide.

If RIM can’t pull a rabbit out of the hat, the BlackBerry will become the latest case study exemplifying just how fast “information empires” can rise and fall in today’s rapidly evolving information technology marketplace. I’ve devoted numerous installments of this column to documenting how Joseph Schumpeter’s “perennial gales of creative destruction” are blowing harder than ever in today’s tech economy and laying waste to those who don’t innovate fast enough.

Nowhere is that more true than in the mobile phone handset and operating system marketplace, which has undergone continuous change over the past 15 years and is still evolving rapidly. Like the BlackBerry, Palm smartphoneswere also wildly popular for a brief time and brought many innovations to the marketplace, but the company underwent many ownership and management changes and rapidly faded from the scene. After buying Palm in 2010, HP announced it would use its webOS platform in a variety of new products. That effort failed, however, and HP instead announced it would transition webOS to an open source software development mode.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/04/01/bye-bye-blackberry-how-long-will-apple-last/