Last year around this time, Blackberry CEO announced that the company would seek to achieve profitability of its phone division within a year. Failure to achieve this lofty goal would see the company cease internal development of these devices as they hemorrhaged a large chunk of the company’s capital. Since then, Blackberry has launched 2 devices that have failed to get as much traction as the firm had hoped.
The Blackberry Priv was ignored by the market for its very pricey proposition pf $650. The device also failed to impress alongside its peers such as the LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 and 6-plus. Blackberry also recently launched a new phone modeled on the Alcatel idol 4 called the DTEK 50. The DTEK 50, a mid-range device has also failed to impress the market despite being billed as the most secure device in the market.
In announcing its Q2 2017 financials for the three months ended August 31, 2016, the company reported an 89% growth in revenue pushed by software and services revenue. Blackberry also made the announcement that it will cease all internal hardware development, meaning the firm will no longer internally make smartphones. Blackberry says they have entered into a licensing agreement with BB Merah Putih of Indonesia to manufacture, distribute and promote BlackBerry-branded devices running on Android.
Blackberry will focus on its software and services offering which have been generating millions of dollars for the company. In regards to its software, the Canadian company announced a strategic alliance with Emtek Group to accelerate and advance BBM’s consumer business globally by developing cross-platform applications, content, and services on the BBM platform.
So, yes. Blackberry Phones will be here but we are not sure for how long.
