Blackberry mobile customers around the world were very frustrated and angry last week after being unable to access their emails, use the Blackberry messenger service or surf the web due to a three-day service blackout.
To make up for this PR disaster, Blackberry are now offering all users £63 worth of free apps after it was claimed that up to 42% of users were considering changing to another manufacturer and 8% had already bought a new mobile phone. But will a load of free apps like ‘Texas Hold ‘Em Poker’ really appease the big player corporate customers like Morgan Stanley and HSBC?
To add to Blackberry’s woes, here’s a comedy sketch from 2 very famous English comedians. There is a lot of clever word-play, where mobile phone vocabulary is confused with fruit and veg shop conversation. Try watching the video a few times to improve your listening skills and then watch again using the full transcript below…take note of all the phrases related to technology.
C = Customer S = Shopkeeper
C: I bought something from you last week and I’m very disappointed.
S: Oh yeah? What’s the problem?
C: Well, my blackberry is not working
S: What’s the matter? Has it run out of juice?
C: No, no, it’s completely frozen
S: Oh yeah, I can see that. I tell you what, let’s try it on orange.
C: That’s got a few blackspots
S: Oh yes. Sorry about that
C: Well, is there anything I can do to get my blackberry working?
S: Well, it could be an application issue. Where do you store that blackberry?
C: Well, it’s on my desktop
S: Well, you could try using a mouse to drag the blackberry to the trash. Then after you’ve done that, you might want to launch the blackberry from the desktop
C: Well, I’ve already tried that a few times but all it did was mess up windows
S: Well, it might be worth waiting a couple of weeks. They’ve got the latest blackberries coming in then
C: Could you give me a date?
S: Certainly
C: Let me put that date in my diary
S: Anything else I can help you with
C: Yes, yes, I’ve also got a problem to be honest with my apple
S; Ooh dear, oh dear. That is an old apple, isn’t it? When did you buy that?
C: Last week
S: Last week? They’ve bought out 2 new apples since then. What’s the problem with it?
C: Well, I tried to put my dongle in it and it won’t fit
S: Oh yeah? And how big is your dongle?
C: Well I don’t know much about these things, but my wife has seen a few dongles in her time and she said it’s a little bit on the small size.
S: Well I’m afraid there’s not a lot I can do about that. Tell you what, let me try booting it. No…it’s crashed. Anything else I can help you with?
C: Well funnily enough, yes. (It’s) My grandson’s birthday soon, you see. Now he’s already got an apple and a blackberry. I mean have you got anything else he might just like?
S: Well, we’re doing a special offer on these. I mean, I can’t make head or tail of them, but the kids seem to like them: Eggs Box – 360
