Blackberry use to control the smartphone market in the early years, but then Apple and Samsung took over, and now Blackberry accounts for less than 1% of smartphone sales annually worldwide. To try and reestablish their foothold in the market and turn around their financial situation, they recently came out with their latest smartphone, the Blackberry Passport. Unlike other smartphones, the passport still has the standard QWERTY keyboard, while also incorporating the typical smartphone touchscreen. To make themselves a standout, Blackberry also created a new technology, Blend, which will now allow users to use any operating system to view email, messages and anything else. They have also started to take a step in the direction of creating and selling software to larger buyers, instead of individual customers, in case their sales in smartphones falls even more.
I was honestly surprised to even see this article. I hadn't heard of a new Blackberry phone in years, and I remember seeing them all the time on TV years ago, but they really have been kicked out of the market place. I think it was a good idea to keep the traditional QWERTY keyboard, many people in older generations aren't the biggest fans of a full touchscreen, but the even better move was inclusion of the Blend technology. This will definitely set Blackberry apart from Apple, who is only compatible with Apple products. Trying to get back into the smartphone market doesn't seem that it would be very easy, similar to trying to get into the market of passenger air flight, one can't simply jump into it once it is pretty dominated by a few companies. But the better decision I think for Blackberry would be to move more towards producing software for larger companies. Unless they plan on providing some incentive for consumers to want their product more than those already available, such as really low prices or better plans, I don't really see Blackberry reestablishing themselves as a prominent seller of smartphones.
Blackberry lost a significant amount of market share when they stopped they heavy advertising campaign that got them where they are. I agree and think that their time for smartphones has passed and they should try and look to new markets for their revenues.
ReplyDeleteThis shows how important it is to continue to improve and grow even while you are at the top. Blackberry had dominated the industry but they refused to listen to the market. Consumers fell in love with the touch screen but blackberry did not change and they fell off the map. It's much harder to regain the market position than to defend their position which they could have done years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't too long ago that BlackBerry was one of the hottest phones on the market. The company now, however, appears to be facing an uphill battle. I believe their decline has been due primarily to fierce competition and consumer perception; consumers have simply turned their backs on BlackBerry, a brand they now see as a has-been. One of the main problems with BlackBerry has been its inability to determine which market to attract. I think that if BlackBerry figures this out and does some serious rebranding efforts, they have a chance of staying alive and remaining relevant.
ReplyDeleteI think BlackBerry's updated smartphone as well as their new Blend technology is a step in the right direction if they are looking to increase profits. However, it's hard to see the company climbing to the top of the market again after falling so far behind companies like Apple and Samsung. I agree that their best bet is probably to venture into other markets, as it's unlikely that they will ever reach the same status that they had before. It will be interesting to see what effect the new BlackBerry has on the smartphone market in coming months.
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely a good move on Blackberry's part. Considering the fact that they have really dropped out of the Smartphone market in the past few years, creating Blend and producing software for companies is definitely smart. It's going to take a huge advance in technology for Blackberry for them to have the upper hand in the Smartphone market. I like how they kept with their QWERTY keyboard instead of conforming to touch screen, I know that the keyboard was one of the key and popular designs of the Blackberry.
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