BlackBerry had its big event this morning to officially launch its new BlackBerry Passport smartphone and (surprise, surprise) it’s also joining in on the iPhone bashing usually reserved for the Android and Windows manufacturers.
During the event, BlackBerry CEO John Chen called out Apple on several occasions including even challenging Apple on the most recent Bendgate controversy that has started to pick up mainstream attention. While not mentioning iPhone specifically, Chen noted the bending issues on a new device that have been the subject of controversy among new iPhone owners and challenged the audience to try and bend its new BlackBerry Passport pictured next to the iPhone in the images above and below.
In addition, the company compared the Passport’s extra-wide 4.5-inch display to the experience on an iPhone 6 for tasks like reading mail, which requires additional panning and scrolling on the iPhone (pictured above). The bashing wasn’t limited to the iPhone, however, as BlackBerry also shared comparisons of the Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5. TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington noted that the company called out “the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5 as falling short of the print standard in terms of how many characters per line it can show.” BlackBerry said the Passport display is capable of showing 60 characters per line making for “a near-optimal text line length for consuming written content.”
Lastly, the iPhone 6 got even more stage time during the event for a comparison of Siri to the new BB Assistant feature. BlackBerry called out Siri’s inability to access data on a corporate network such as secure calendar events.
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If you compare your device with an iPhone, then you acknowledge that you lagging.
False. It was compared because an iPhone is familiar. An iPhone is familiar because people are uneducated, mindless drones that will lap up anything. The iPhone anymore is 49% Android, 49% BlackBerry and 2% Apple … that being the logo and the terrible design.
Hey, your logic’s broken. Android is iOS, in case if you didn’t know.
blackberry who
buttons
But actually I don’t care about BlackberryMicrosoftAndroido-Phones! Why i’m reading about it on the 9to5MAC?
Because of their comparison to THE IPHONE, dumbass??!
And there’s actually no law that’s keeping you from simply IGNORING it if you don’t care. Imagine that! So you can simply just MOVE ALONG next time and spare everyone your superfluous drivel! Hooray!
But then he wouldn’t get to experience the joy of your crazy, hyperbolic and overreactive replies! Put down the Red Bull, leave your mom’s basement, and go talk a nice walk – I suspect it would do you some good.
But then how would you find me, so as to BLOW ME? Hmmmm…
such a tough guy, this lin, bet his blow up doll must be all messed up
It looks just like you, so…. no, sorry.
OK, kids – settle down before I give you a time out in the corner.
haha lin has a blow up doll and it looks like… me? creepy and sad. go troll somewhere else…
How to identify the bizarre level of DESPAIR in a company: they quote PRINT standards as a yardstick for quality for their PHONE.
WOW.
They quote print standards but also noted that those standards are used by current devices such as the kindles.
What the fuck is a “Blackberry”?
A smartphone
(Yeah, IK, probably a sarcastic remark, but…) I do enjoy history. Blackberry invented the Smart Phone. Another reason I like this story – they totally dominated this market in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Then, this little marginal computer company who had had a massive hit branching out into digital music, suddenly came out with a smart phone that upended all other smart phones, and revamped the cell phone business by changing the way cell phones were sold by carriers. This company eventually changed their name because this new device became their flagship product. They are now called Apple, Inc. The phone, introduced in 2007, rose to cell phone market dominance within a year, and it was all downhill after Google jumped into the fray with a free, open source mobile OS. Blackberry missed the market, because they thought their customers wanted security over all else – sacrificing usability, openness of platform to third-party apps, and they only targeted the business market, ignoring the consumer market. Apparently, they are still stuck on their micro-thinking that customers want security, or print-standard-compliance, or some other esoteric geeky thing – rather than a complete ecosystem of phone, tablet, set-top-box, wearables, automotive, and computer that just work well together. That have millions of third-party apps. That integrate with a smart home, can play with toys like racing cars and remote-control balls. That are fun, and synch with a music, video, and content service to enhance the quality of life. And you wonder why Samsung doesn’t do more with cross-device life integration? They don’t get the big picture either.
the latest OS that blackberry is running is called BB10.3.1 .
It allows the user to run android apps.
The latest OS that blackberry phones have, it allows the user to review/modify documents, messaging, texting, etc on your PC, laptop, tablet (either from windows, IOS, or android) by simply plugging your phone with an USB cable to the device.
In other words, the phone runs most apps available and connects with any device. Real innovation.
blackberry phones also use pebble smartwatch.
This company isn’t dead yet? How far in the red are they now?
Not at all.
@paulywalnuts23, this is the thing I admire about Blackberry the most – they have managed their money well. They were never in the red, even during the massive decline over the last few years. They may be by now, but it would be a recent thing.
How many people seriously gonna bend their bloody phone, iPhone or other devices.
They found nothing to complain about, so they create one.
Shut the hell up.
IF YOU BEND ANY METAL HARD ENOUGH, IT WILL EVENTUALLY BEND.
Some metals are bendable and when you stop bending them they don’t bend back, some do, but Aluminum isn’t one that bends back so easily, it weakens the stress points. If they used Titanium, that has what they call “memory”, so it would spring back to original position, Carbon fiber is harder to bend and it would take a lot of pressure to get it to crack, which probably couldn’t be done under normal circumstances.
I think Apple didn’t examine the design this time around and it might have been a little stronger if they hand a slight curve to the back (similar to the older iPad design). That would strengthen it considerably.
I hope that Apple doesn’t get a lot of backlash by this, but I think they will. I think Apple should have done something to prevent bending where it doesn’t go back to the original state.
I’m buying the iPhone 6 because I don’t think it’s as susceptible to this as is the 6+.
“I think Apple didn’t examine the design this time around…”
Really?
“I think Apple didn’t examine the design this time around”
This bending issue is really ridiculous. Dont sit on your phone… Dont put your phone in the toilet. Dont microwave your phone. Apple makes products but cant account for human error 100%
For some reason in my mind the analogy of “man gets gunned down after attempting to use iphone 6+ as shield…family sues apple…” keeps popping up… Maybe Iphone 6s headline?
I’d like to see you bend a 2 inch think Titanium bar. Tell me when it bends.
If that’s all they have going for them is that you can’t bend their phone that’s pretty sad.
That’s actually huge. If your phone bends and breaks you need a new phone on a regular basis. Having a phone that doesn’t bend is possibly one of the most important things when it comes to phones.
Ah ah ah ah ah. this was a joke right? Sadly if you are serious this proves Blackberry and other can use users stupidity at their advantage.
The comparison using character count as benchmark is simply embarrassing.
“Nobody at Apple compares Passport to iPhone 6, on the street, a bunch of dudes challenge BB to sell it”
Only one question I have for Blackberry;
Does it sell?
Does it sell? It has to actually come to market, and we all know that won’t happen.
Mi abuelo me contaba historias de la antigüedad, cuando la gente usaba Blackberries..
Your grandpa can tell you stories of antiquity, of when people used Blackberries? Is my translation correct?
SO you can’t bend a Galaxy or any tablet? I thought the curve screen was the “NEXT BIG THING”? LOL
It makes sense that it would be harded to bend a phone that is an inch thick or whatever the hell it is. Blackberry is trying to do something different to save their company, but if anyone wanted an awkward square phone, we would have them already. If you want to read more on one line, turn your phone on its side and use landscape mode.
Blackberry still exists?!?!
Yes, they clearly still exist. Couldn’t Siri answer that for you?
“Antennagate” “Bendgate” ? Everyone in the media knows the original was a controversy secretly recorded in the Watergate hotel right? It wasn’t a controversy regarding water. You all know that, right? Adding “gate” to the end of a word to call attention to a controversy, is as relevant as adding “water” to the beginning.
This post will now become “Postgate” at 9to5mac.
Or will it be “Waterpost” ?
Perhaps the -gate suffix has a new meaning that extends beyond its original use, and conveys its weight so well that it is continuously used? Language and monikers evolve over time, it always has. In this scenario, it’s much easier to call it “Bendgate” over “The current situation in which the phone has a bending problem”.
Silly, it’s Watergate-gate!
That blackberry slab is the ugliest phone I have ever seen. They should sell 10 in the first 3 days of release.
Loved how they chose a Pages document vs. an e-mail message. Of course a real paper document will have larger margins than something designed to be used on another screen. Ah well. Let them have their fun. No one will be buying this shit anyways.
during one day 200.000 bought (Amazon and BBShop)
I use to be a big blackberry fan for a long time owning several models throughout the pre iphone years. The point they are at now is so very embarrassing. Its a very ugly phone with inferior capabilities. Its only a matter of time Blackberry gets bought out and sell off their patents because we all know they can not keep up in the smart phone business. Too bad they dont know that yet.
Uhhh that thing is hideous. It looks like my 3 year old niece’s Leapster.
Challenge the audience to bend it? Lol!!! He ought to be challenging them to actually BUY it😳!!!
This is an “anabolic” version of old Nokia e61. Very funny.
WOW! Now that is one ugly phone.
Competitors’ managers have their brains bent along with their childish marketing depts employees. Blackberry is dead. The sad thing is that they even think to be funny along with Samsung and their lame childish ads attacks against Apple. They are just pathetic and unprofessional instead. So lame.
This Blackberry won’t sell. It looks more like one of those concept ideas that never makes it to market, but someone made the mistake of releasing it. Oh well.
This company still around? Wow thought they dead.
Friend of mine has the Blackberry Z10 and she hates it, says she never ever will buy another bb again, cant wait to dump it and get iPhone. I played around with the Z10, the OS is to cumbersome to use. And now they put this thing out. They still no get it that keyboards are so yesterday, they are so dead in the water.
Does your friend have two copies of chromosome 21? The in-out paradigm of iPhone is stale and archaic. Too bad for you and her for wanting to live in the past.
Interesting design…. Doubt people will buy it.
Apple is going to have a lawsuit against them for bendagate
oh wow…dat health bar.
its looks like one of the original kindles!
Seriously? how many hit points does blackberry have? That must be the healthbar i have ever freaking seen.
Well at least they will always win shittiest modern phone design of the year.
I’m sure the 3 and a half people who attended that announcement found his comparisons to be mildly interesting.
Blackberry, is that all you got?
Who is this Kevin Kline guy? You’re obviously either a paid by BlackBerry to post on their behalf or your one of those stubborn BlackBerry users who will be going down with the ship. Get a clue, BlackBerry is on life support. Stop wasting all of our time, put them out of their misery and pull the plug.
You know what I like about this article – it makes me feel good that I don’t own a blackberry. I am all for square things, I am all for buttons, but combined into a single phone with a crappy OS, no. Makes one feel good about having any version of iPhone going back to the 2G when compared to this new concoction by Blackberry.
Is Blackberry desperate? You make up your own mind, a company who used to rule the smart phone industry, until an upstart nobody booted them to the bottom. I find it reaffirming to see how Samsung, Blackberry, Nokia, Google, HTC – in fact, every smart phone manufacturer – compares their phone to the iPhone. And if you look at all of Apple’s ads, they don’t bother comparing themselves to anyone else except themselves (e.g. comparing the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 5S). What does that tell you? Make up your own mind. Me, I love my iPhone 6. Until the 6S comes out – darned Apple!
This device is clearly a TABLET with a built in phone, and not a smart phone.
I have a better challenge… I challenge John Chen to sell it.
oh Canada…
the problem is corporations are hesitant to choose smartphone device from a company that has a going concern. If it might not be around in 2-3 years then who’s going to provide support? Corporations are smarter than that.
Blackberry don’t know what to do with themselves. A defining example of how easily and quickly one can fall from grace, and how hopeless and pointless the climb back up Mount Olympus will be.
That Blackberry is plain ugly, the form factor is just not something I’d purchase, so would never get to test whether it bends or not. I guess they rely upon negative press for one popular company in order to actually get any press for themselves these days.
And what makes an iPhone any different? Apple has become really good at turning itself a “ME TOO” company with customers that suffer from a similar form of insanity to battered wife syndrome. Apple has also proven that owning a smart phone will not make you smarter but in fact makes some users less intelligent. You cannot judge a device by how irritating you can be with your iPhone or that you can play Candy Crush faster than the other device. It’s based on what you use your phone to actually do other than try to look cool and text. Comparing is not bashing, but what iPhone fans do is. iPhones are toys always have been, they can’t do what the others do without sharing your personal info with the world. in fact you should be comparing it to what it really is, a gameboy with a phone.
In my view this company is dead as a door nail. It’s just that some refuse to let it die and actually believe an OS with half a percent of market share is worth anything to consumers or enterprise for that matter.
I used the Passport myself for just over a month back in July and to be honest I wasn’t impressed. You practically need the hands of gorilla to operate the thing and the form factor is just atrocious.
The only ones continuing to push this stuff are fanboys and other deluded types who have an irrational hatred of Apple or Google and believe that a smartphone in 2015 is as it was in 2005. We’ve moved beyond the need for tactile keys and encrypted communication doesn’t sell devices except to a few diehards and niche market players
One last thing. The app experience on BB10 is utter garbage and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The run times are poor and applications frequently freeze up, unexpectedly close or slow to open to say nothing that some features are missing from these side loaded alternatives versus the native equivalent.
Blackberry is dying a slow death and really it’s time to put it out of its misery once and for all