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Leaning on licensees
The funny thing is that neither Nokia nor BlackBerry will actually make the phones that bear their names. The Nokia brand is licensed by HMD (and manufactured by Foxconn FIH Mobile). BlackBerry still owns proprietary software like BlackBerry Hub, but a company called TCL has licensed the rights to make the phone. (TCL, a Chinese company that's had recent success with Roku TVs in the US, also makes devices like 2016's Alcatel Idol 4.)It's up to these companies to help the Nokia and BlackBerry names sink or swim.Betting big on Android
Before the iPhone changed everything, Nokia and BlackBerry were status symbols, but their third-party software fell behind. A struggling Nokia sided with Microsoft to create the doomed Lumia line (Microsoft bought a 10-year license to the Nokia name, which it abandoned after 5). Meanwhile, BlackBerry faltered with its own BlackBerry OS before turning to Android, which it padded with its own security software. The Mercury will keep this combo.The Nokia 6 is the brand's first Android phone, but Google Play services are disabled in China, the 6's first market. Its MWC launch will be the first time we get to see the handset in full-on Googly action, and see how an Android Nokia phone really works.You take the high road, I'll take the low road
Nokia and BlackBerry have similar ambitions, but different ways of getting there. BlackBerry's "Mercury" aims for the high end (we don't know how high, but they tell us "premium"), while Nokia's 6 is firmly in the midrange, with a sale price in China that converts to about $250, £200 and AU$330. Although we don't know much about HMD's plans for Nokia's roster of phones, we do know it plans to dole out $500 million over the next three years on global marketing.Photo by HMDBlackBerry-licenser TCL may shoot for the high end now, but it plans to build a complete portfolio of devices that span the cost spectrum, Alcatel's head of North America, Steve Cistulli, told CNET. Before 2017 ends, expect the Mercury to have a low-cost counterpart.But will all the cash matter? Will the best-laid plans stall Nokia and BlackBerry's downward spirals long enough to see them gain new buyers?It's hard to say.During the dark Microsoft Lumia days, Nokia did best as a low-cost brand with solid hardware, especially in cost-conscious and emerging markets. The Nokia name became a value buy. With Android at its side, there's a chance Nokia could fight in the mid-tier. The brand has a history of built-in wireless charging and metal construction, but it's been so long since the its designers were allowed to really branch out from candy-colored plastic, it's hard to imagine a super premium Android Nokia phone.BlackBerry, meanwhile, will continue to struggle with an identity crises so long as it holds on to the notion that its security software is the thing that sets it apart -- software that primes it as a business device rather than one that the everyday consumer would want. Still, its signature hard QWERTY keyboard does appeal to anyone who likes the thought of physical, rather than virtual, typing.Once upon a time, you could expect stalwart fans to prop up sales of the latest Nokia and BlackBerry phones, at least initially. But with all but the die-hard fanboys having given up and moved on to Android or iPhone alternatives, it remains to be seen if these legacy brands can even carve out a niche in the middle or low end. Only time will tell.11. Wearables and the NBA!Reports out of the tentative negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NBA and players union indicate that a wearables committee is set to be formed. This committee made up of NBA officials and representatives of the players will determine how and where wearable technology will be used to track and record player biometric data.This move is intended to reduce the number of injuries and overexertion issues that players experience throughout the season. Playing your best players throughout most of the game is a good idea on paper. After all, shouldn’t you put the players that score the most in the game?In practice, this doesn’t work out very well at all. As the season goes on, prolonged exertion and intense workloads take a toll on the players. Top names like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving end up sitting out key games to rest. If there was a way to track these player’s exertion levels, the coaches would be able to better manage the team’s time in the game in order to improve player longevity.12. Snapchat and more visible search! HmmmSnapchat has given brands and publishers new hope that they could get discovered.On Thursday, the messaging and media app revamped the design of its search, opening the possibility that brands and publishers will get more exposure for their Snapchat videos.The search changes are mostly cosmetic at this point, and they don't dramatically alter how people discover new accounts. However, it offers a more visual search design that appears readymade for brands and publishers to be able to promote themselves, perhaps eventually paying to find larger audiences.Snapchat unveiled the search changes on select Google Android phones, but said it would soon roll out more broadly.The new search page borrows from Asian messaging apps like WeChat out of China and Line from Japan, according to Jason Stein, CEO of social agency Laundry Service.13 Kodak Camera
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