BlackBerry CEO John Chen unveils growth plans for its handset business. (Photo : Getty Images/Sean Gallup)
BlackBerry is looking to expand its handset business this fiscal year and turn it into a revenue-generating one, according to the company's Chief Executive Officer John Chen.
The company was previously considered as a leader in smartphone devices. However, with the influx of competitors such as Samsung and Apple, Blackberry has lost its top spot in the market. In an Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, June 22, BlackBerry's Chen has revealed one of the company's business focus for the year, N4BB reported.
Chen shared that they are looking to make its handset business a profitable one this year. However, Chen clarified BlackBerry will not be focusing all its resources on growing its handset business. He explained that the growth opportunity lies on the software inside the devices. BlackBerry's software business has served as its bread and butter for the previous quarters. It has also remained as a strong source of revenue for the company.
Meanwhile, the Canadian firm has released its first Android phone with the BlackBerry Priv in 2015. However, the product was unsuccessful in generating high profit and sales numbers for the company. In the latest quarter, BlackBerry only sold around 500,000 of the said devices, according to The Wall Street Journal. The latest sales figures are lower than the number of handsets sold in the third and fourth quarters of the previous year. BlackBerry sold 700,000 units and 600,000 units in the said quarter periods, respectively.
Chen also mentioned that the company's BlackBerry Priv appears to an expensive handset model for its target customers. The said device retails for around $700. The BlackBerry CEO shared that they are looking to announce two less expensive Android phone models in July. He also teased that one of the new handsets will feature a full-screen touch device, as indicated in the same report. Avid fans of BlackBerry phone units can look forward to the said upcoming new handset models from the company.
To find out more about the BlackBerry CEO's plans for its handset business, watch this video.
