Mobile Phones

Blackberry gives up on smartphones, goes the software route

BlackBerry LogoBlackberry has announced that after years of struggling to find their footing in the market they once dominated, they will be giving up on making smartphones. Instead, they will be focusing on software, mobile security, and management.

Blackberry’s Sharp Decline

It isn’t a surprise to anyone who has been keeping their eye on the company. Once the biggest player in the mobile game, they were the go to across the world. But with the introduction of the iPhone, and Google’s foray into smartphones with Android, Blackberry sales began to suffer.

Within a shockingly short period of time the brand hit their lowest point. Their fall from grace was a shame for those who value privacy and security, the two major traits Blackberry was known for. At least until a series of controversies, including news of the Canadian Mounted Police’s ability to hack into devices.

A New Plan

Blackberry will now be focusing entirely on the software side of the mobile game. That means operating systems, work in the security field (essentially going back to the roots of their brand’s core message), and mobile management. All hardware development will be outsourced.

While this departure is a long anticipated one, it is uncertain if it will pay off. The damage and irrelevance of the company in today’s technology world could act against it in a big way. Though they already have a partnership with Indonesia for mobile software development, it might not be enough to pull them out of the sink hold they have lived in for more than a decade.

It also suggests that they will still be releasing Blackberry devices, just manufactured from others in the same way that Android has done. This is a bold approach for a company that is so far in the reputation red.

Given that Blackberry gets less of a market share than Windows phones at 0.05%, success just doesn’t seem achievable. They keep trying to force some kind of solution, but in all the years they have struggled.

Now their name is a piece of tech nostalgia, totally unrecognizable to the new, mobile savvy generation that make up the most important demographic of consumers.

Source: CNET, Blackberry, HackerNews

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.