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Blackberry just doesn't have traction outside of the US, since most of the rest of the world deeply distrust the architecture of the Blackberry system (i.e. all

Blackberry just doesn't have traction outside of the US, since most of the rest of the world deeply distrust the architecture of the Blackberry system (i.e. all data sent back to US-based servers). I think this is the one thing they must fix - the perception by the world that Blackberry is just a front for the CIA. Laugh all you want: I've heard this expressed in more than one location here in Europe, enough so that even if its a falsehood, its a solid one that isn't going anywhere. RIM(/Blackberry) haven't done very much to assuage this fear, alas .. and more to the point, seem resistant to doing so, which make the suspicions even more warranted.

cgh 13y ago
Blackberry is not a US company and is not based in the US. So it's just sheer ignorance on the part of your friends to assume that it is.
ianhawes 13y ago
The earnings don't support your anecdotal hypothesis. Blackberry had explosive growth in South America and Southeast Asia after the US market stagnated around 2009. Blackberry's ONLY growth has been in emerging markets for the past 5 years, however even that is slowing down, but I think you'd be hard pressed to prove that's due to any sort of connection to US Intelligence.
dmalik 13y ago
"since most of the rest of the world deeply distrust the architecture of the Blackberry system (i.e. all data sent back to US-based servers). I think this is the one thing they must fix - the perception by the world that Blackberry is just a front for the CIA" I found that funny because that's the exact opposite of what actually happened. BlackBerry was to secure and certain governments couldn't spy on their citizens. Here is an article from where this misinformation stemmed from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10830485 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10830485 I'm guessing people only read headlines and a lot of them had "BlackBerry" and "Security" in them and most people jumped to conclusions. BlackBerry has many NOC's and not one is in the US.
GrinningFool 13y ago
I'll never understand why BB failed to play up the "hey, did you notice that we weren't in any of those leaked documents as a partner of the NSA - unlike all three of our major competitors" angle... But it seems that they have a lot of marketing fails, that's only one of the more recent.
mwfunk 13y ago
(1) Blackberry isn't an American company. (2) They don't have a ton of traction anywhere these days, but the US was the first market they lost. What growth they have now is in developing nations. (3) sigh

cgh 13y ago

Blackberry is not a US company and is not based in the US. So it's just sheer ignorance on the part of your friends to assume that it is.

ianhawes 13y ago

The earnings don't support your anecdotal hypothesis. Blackberry had explosive growth in South America and Southeast Asia after the US market stagnated around 2009. Blackberry's ONLY growth has been in emerging markets for the past 5 years, however even that is slowing down, but I think you'd be hard pressed to prove that's due to any sort of connection to US Intelligence.

dmalik 13y ago

"since most of the rest of the world deeply distrust the architecture of the Blackberry system (i.e. all data sent back to US-based servers). I think this is the one thing they must fix - the perception by the world that Blackberry is just a front for the CIA" I found that funny because that's the exact opposite of what actually happened. BlackBerry was to secure and certain governments couldn't spy on their citizens. Here is an article from where this misinformation stemmed from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10830485 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-10830485 I'm guessing people only read headlines and a lot of them had "BlackBerry" and "Security" in them and most people jumped to conclusions. BlackBerry has many NOC's and not one is in the US.

GrinningFool 13y ago

I'll never understand why BB failed to play up the "hey, did you notice that we weren't in any of those leaked documents as a partner of the NSA - unlike all three of our major competitors" angle... But it seems that they have a lot of marketing fails, that's only one of the more recent.

mwfunk 13y ago

(1) Blackberry isn't an American company. (2) They don't have a ton of traction anywhere these days, but the US was the first market they lost. What growth they have now is in developing nations. (3) sigh