BlackBerry Quits Hardware Next Year If It Isn't Profitable

During Code/Mobile, CEO John Chen says that BlackBerry quits hardware next year if it isn’t profitable enough. He said that the company never says never to shutting down key parts of its business and focusing on something else that makes investors happy. This something else may very well be a shift of focus towards providing top-notch security services to a variety of platforms.

The company’s Enterprise Servers is fully compatible with both iOS and Android, so it wouldn’t be much of a hassle to aim more resources and time towards the mobile medium. However, they are already wetting their toes in mobile waters without displaying significant improvements.

Chen is still trying to reinvigorate the hardware business, and he doesn’t seem to want to let it die, regardless of how much he notes that BlackBerry never says never. During the Code/Mobile event, Chen took to the stage to unveil and showcase BlackBerry’s Priv. The company’s first Android product, and also the first device built by BB that doesn’t use their own OS.

Chen notes that the BB Priv aims at being a super secure smartphone, maintaining the user’s privacy at all costs. Chen says the the Priv addresses the three key factors which can make BlackBerry succeed – and to be frank, if the Priv isn’t a hit, then it might be the last BlackBerry smartphone we will ever see.

The first issue that the company has to fix is the need to do accommodate all ecosystems i.e. iOS, Android and even Windows Mobile. The second key issues is that the company needs to entice developers to build apps that are either BB exclusive or capable of running on a BB device. This shouldn’t be a huge problem now that the Priv is Android-enabled. And lastly, Chen think that BlackBerry needs to take advantage of the humongous strength it has in the security department and pump up their smartphones accordingly.

Chen adds that the Priv will most likely be one of the securest Android smartphones on the market, if not the securest one. He says that the only the Blackphone is equal to the Priv. Also, BB acknowledges how secure and powerful the Samsung Knox is, which Chen notes as one of Priv’s main competitors in the mobile security medium.

Yet, with the recent Stagefright vulnerabilities unveiled, the company doesn’t guarantee ultimate security. But Chen says that the company is resilient than ever, and even if their Priv will feature vulnerabilities, it won’t feature as many as other competitors.

Even though BlackBerry’s hardware part of the business is in turmoil, with removal pounding on its door, Chen is confident that their new project, as in the BB Priv, will succeed. Thus keeping the business department afloat for at least a couple of years.

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Roxanne Briean

I am a geek, a gamer and a writer. I have always been fascinated with the online community. At the moment I work as a full-time writer and study interior design. When I'm not scouring the net in search of interesting new gadgets and software I spend my time in MOBAs or drawing.