Tag: blackberry mobile phones

CEO John Chen did everything he could think of to keep them going, but has finally admitted defeat.

BlackBerry smartphones were once the “it” devices. People loved them so much they were called “crackberries.” Where we see iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones today, the Canadian handset maker once held a tremendous segment of the market.

Since then, BlackBerry fell from its high throne and has been plummeting for years.

Industry experts have been predicting the demise of BlackBerry smartphones for quite some time. At the same time, the struggling company was determined to keep trying, particularly when John Chen took over as CEO. Chen was quoted repeatedly saying that the brand would not give up on hardware.

In a dramatic turnaround attempt, BlackBerry released one mobile phone after the next. They launched the Passport, a unique square-shaped device, and several others. They even released mobile devices based on Google’s Android operating system instead of the company’s own proprietary OS.

BlackBerry smartphones will no longer be designed, ordered or sold following this fiscal year.

In a press release, Chen announced the end of the company’s 20 year effort in the mobile hardware marketplace. The company first started in mobile devices in 1996 when it was selling two-way pagers. “The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners,” said Chen.

This announcement was made closely on the heels of its quarterly revenue report. Investors clearly saw potential in BlackBerry’s intentions to give up smartphones. Despite the notable drop in quarterly revenue, the announcement of the cessation of its hardware production and sales caused shares to climb 3 percent in premarket trading.

The company also announced that BlackBerry smartphones will continue to exist in some markets. This will occur through a royalty-collecting licensing agreement through the PT BB Merah Putih joint venture. That project is led by PT Tiphone Mobile Indonesia Tbk, the biggest wireless carrier in Indonesia. It will produce BlackBerry branded mobile phones running on Android. The mobile devices will be distributed exclusively within Indonesia. At the moment, no other market will see the sale of devices under this brand.

The second half of 2015 may see a new device from the handset maker, based on Google’s mobile operating system.

The rumors are flying and reports are coming from every direction, suggesting that BlackBerry smartphones will soon have Android operating systems, despite the fact that at the time that this article was written, the company and its CEO have, so far, not confirmed any of the speculations.

The reports have now indicated that multiple smartphone models will be rolled out this year, using Android.

Though officially unconfirmed, virtually every sign is now indicating that BlackBerry smartphones will soon be produced based on the Android operating system. The company has even gone to the extent of purchasing two domain names “AndroidSecured.com” and “AndroidSecured.net”, which have to do with a statement that CEO John Chen had previously made on the subject. When asked if his company would be making mobile devices based on Android, his reply was that it would happen only if Google’s mobile operating system could be made to be far more secure.

BlackBerry smartphones operating on Android would still maintain some of the company’s own software functions.

Even though it would have a different operating system, there would still be signs of the BlackBerry OS in terms of the software functions as well as the applications services, for example: BBM, BES12, and BlackBerry Blend. This according to a number of sources that have been reported by the media, but who have remained unnamed. They are, supposedly, from Foxconn, the manufacturer of the devices.

In order to boost the hardware’s competitive edge, BlackBerry has also broadened its hardware partnerships in order to include Wistron and Compal Electronics, in addition to the partner that it already has, Foxconn.

Many analysts in the industry feel that if Blackberry smartphones are rolled out with Android, it is very unlikely that the company will face losses as a result. The company does still maintain a strong brand image in a range of different markets. Moreover, its reputation in terms of security – particularly from its enterprise side – is essentially unparalleled. However, it is more than evident that changes need to be made in order to boost the value of the hardware business unit at BlackBerry, and to many, it feels as though this could be the move that would make that difference.