BlackBerry was the first. It created a market, at a time when smartphones weren’t as popular as they are today. Then BlackBerry was knocked off its perch. The perpetrators? The Apple iPhone and Google’s Android. This fall was followed by some poor decisions. The company is desperate, reportedly making Android phones that will be released later this year.
According to Reuters, BlackBerry will be shifting its focus to software and device management. Struggling to meet their customers’ expectations, it has failed to keep up with the Android and iPhone.
Citing their usual unnamed sources, the oh-so-reliable news agency wrote that BlackBerry is “considering” a phone that will run on Google’s Android operating system. BlackBerry is considering this option because its platform has reduced to just 0.4% of last year’s total global sales.
On the other hand, Android is installed on about 82% of all the smartphones that were shipped last year, and today the competition in the Android world is more than ever. To sell its Android phones, BlackBerry would have to compete against true giants that have been using android for years, such as Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony and several others… and hope to somehow differentiate itself from them.
Any release date or any confirmation isn’t expected anytime soon; the company is no longer giving its handset division priority, given its poor performance. The smartphone maker’s software and services that run on all platforms is expected to make profits and help the company.
According to Reuters, this Android powered BlackBerry will be having a slide-out keyboard with a large screen… a difference that might bring in new customers or simply isolate their few loyal customers. Time will tell.
The competition in the Android ecosystem is enormous. This could, however, help the company; the market for android phones is equally large, and with the smartphone market is expanding day-by-day. And with a pie that big, there might just be a slice for Blackberry.
Gimmick or game-changer? Tell us in the comments.
