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BlackBerry Says It's Done Designing and Building Its Own Phones (theverge.com)
BlackBerry today reported its fiscal second-quarter sales and said that it will stop making its iconic smartphones and focus on its software business. The Verge adds: BlackBerry has announced that it plans to stop making its own phones as the struggling company continues to focus on its software and security products. This is far from the end of BlackBerry devices, the production of which will be outsourced to third-party manufacturers -- as was the case with the company's recent DTEK 50, a clone of Alcatel's Idol 4 with BlackBerry branding. "The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners," said CEO John Chen in a statement. Elsewhere he stated: "We are reaching an inflection point with our strategy. Our financial foundation is strong, and our pivot to software is taking hold." This isn't surprising news considering BlackBerry's ongoing struggle in the mobile market. According to estimates from Gartner, the company claimed just 0.1 percent of the market in the second quarter, equating to sales of some 400,400 units. The last BlackBerry phone manufactured by the company was the Priv, the company's first Android-powered device, released November last year.
I like my Z10 and Z30. I really like BB OS 10. I love the way messages are organized in "Blackberry Hub"
But if Blackberry is moving to an OS they don't write, on hardware they don't design or build - is there any reason to buy their stuff any more?
Sad. I've had a Blackberry in my pocket since the 5790, a three line pager with the iconic keyboard. :(
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
BlackBerry should've died the moment their CEO schizophrenically boasted about how they let law enforcement pry into BlackBerry devices while simultaneously denying that there's a backdoor.
"This is far from the end of BlackBerry devices..."
I suspect it's not that far.
#DeleteChrome
cuz folks are just about done buying them!
the results for this quarter were clearer: a net loss of $372 million on revenue of $334 million.
So, for every dollar of revenue, they spent that dollar, plus more than more than another dollar. If that's the definition of a strong financial foundation, give me your credit cards and I'll make you WONDERFULLY strong. They must be using graduates from the Trump University's school of accounting.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
I wish blackberry would create a decent keyboard tightly integrated with a protective case to add to my android or iPhone. I miss physical phone keyboards very much.
...probably because it's precisely what I've been saying they should do since the first android hit the shelves. They were outclassed, but they had a great corporate security reputation. They should have ditched the hardware and partnered up with an android maker to provide a corporate secure device, complete with the software backend.
Instead, they sat around pretending their market position could never be threatened, and consequently got left in the dust.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Why not? it's my opinion
It was never an alternative to the iPhone. BlackBerry almost invented the smartphone market.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
two things:
1. they tried to compete with the app-store model, got in too late, and got fucked
2. they failed to bail out of making devices after the BBOS 9, where it was already not profitable, and focus on their excellent corporate control
the results for this quarter were clearer: a net loss of $372 million on revenue of $334 million.
So, for every dollar of revenue, they spent that dollar, plus more than more than another dollar. If that's the definition of a strong financial foundation, give me your credit cards and I'll make you WONDERFULLY strong. They must be using graduates from the Trump University's school of accounting.
They have, according to their balance sheet, $3 Billion in cash and short-term investments and about $3 Billion in liabilities, half of which is long-term debt. So, they aren't going bankrupt for at least 5 years with the current burn rate. I'm guessing that dropping in house development of phones will reduce the burn rate quite a bit. So, their financial foundation would be considered solid for at least the next couple of years. However, if they don't return the company to profitability within that time, things could get worse.
Note: The above is purely my opinion. I am not a financial analyst.
The reality is you are hopelessly wrong. They had +257M cash flow from Operations last fiscal. Their investments cash flow (which is where asset selling/purchasing would occur) was down 439M - ie they invested MORE in assets then they sold. They have been buying assets with cash. Buying. Not selling. They have a profitable software business. They are out of the unprofitable hardware business, good for them. They will wind up like Novell - once dominant, nearly wiped out, but still chugging along as multi-billion dollar business.
Yes. My users love the Z30/passport software, the HUB, the calendar and email management, intelligent CC'ing, intelligent meeting mode, quick notification for late meetings, quick delete of read messages it is all very well thought out. As a productivity tool it blows everything else out of the water. You can't play your games on it, sorry.
They're moving away from mobile and into other things software wise.
In fact, Blackberry signed a contract for real-time trailer tracking. Real-time truck tracking is common, but usually it's only the tractor that's actually got the GPS unit and tracker.
Blackberry's new device is a box that screws into the trailer and provides monitoring of the trailer itself, as well as interior sensor for monitoring temperature (critical for reefer trucks). Given trailer theft is extremely common, it's a niche that surprisingly wasn't fulfilled. It apparently installs in about 10 minutes and is self-powered, so it can be added to every trailer you have, and requires no interaction with the driver. (Traditional truck-trackers require significant installation in the cab - GPS antennas, tracker devices, engine monitoring, potential two-way communicator, etc)
Am I the only one who remembers QNX? They used to have a decent desktop OS for x86 that booted on a Pentium II 450mhz/128MB machine in about 45 seconds. It had a full fledged GUI (Photon), and was approaching BeOS levels of speed. From what I've seen of the kernel source, it's pretty well written too.
What did Blackberry do with it?
Blackberry bought QNX because they had a ton of cash, and the original BBOS wasn't up to competing with iOS or Android. They to differentiate themselves with a modern proprietary OS -- ruling out any third party OS (Palm's WebOS, Windows Phone, Android, Maemo, etc.)
QNX fit the requirements well, so it was used as a basis for BB10 (much like GNU/Linux was the basis for WebOS, and to a much lesser extent, Android).
QNX is a Blackberry subsidiary, and continues to heavily develop and sell QNX and its entire ecosystem. QNX is used heavily in the automotive and medical industries. Many Android Audio and Apple CarPlay stereos use QNX as the base OS. My own car's stereo unit uses QNX.
I wouldn't be surprised if QNX sales have been a major force that kept Blackberry from oblivion.
-- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.
Too bad. The Priv seems to be the last physical keyboard Android phone. Prior to the Priv, I had a Droid 4 which I liked even better (bigger physical keyboard still).
Unfortunately, people like me who need to compose longer emails while on the road are a very small minority. Most people are happy typing one line "text speak" with their fingers or talking to the phone. That's not good enough for me.
Not to mention that the onscreen keyboard takes away from screen real estate.