BlackBerry CEO John Chen said his company will venture into mid-range devices and will debut two new Android phones this year. He said one will have a hardware keyboard while the other, a full touch phone. The handsets would be priced between $300 to $400.
BlackBerry, which was a leader in the mobile market years ago, lost the position to contemporary giant players like Apple and Samsung. However, it has not stopped trying to bounce back and recently, started to see its efforts paying off.
In November, it launched a unique phone, BlackBerry Priv - the first Android smartphone that has the superb security features BlackBerry devices are known for and the rich ecosystem of Google's mobile operating system.
The company said it sold 600,000 handsets in the first quarter, which was below analyst forecast of 850,000. It did not disclose how many BlackBerry Priv units were sold during that period.
Fortunately, smartphone losses in BlackBerry slowed down, Android Police reported. However, BlackBerry Priv's high price of $700 proved to be an obstacle, even with the recent price cut that lowered its price tag to $650.
As BlackBerry's business core is the enterprise, Chen shared their partners told them Priv is too pricey to be for the masses. Mid-range phones are getting good and the company would want to compete in that space to boost its sales.
"We're the only people who really secure Android, taking the security features of BlackBerry that everyone knows us for and make it more reachable for the market," the executive said in an interview with The National during his visit to Abu Dhabi.
Chen told the publication that the handset division improved during the last quarter compared to the previous quarter and if it does not become profitable, then he will be out in the handset business. He also said, "I love our handset business, but we need to make money."
The CEO reiterated the company has no plans to launch new BB10 devices, though it still supports the operating system with its millions of customers. He also did not brush off the idea that the company's handset division would be sold if it will not shape up, a concept he has kept afloat since being at the company's helm in November 2013.
Below is a review of BlackBerry Priv: