BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) continues to plug ahead in the smartphone business despite seeing its market share drop to negligible numbers.
CEO John Chen even made it clear in remarks from the most recent earnings report that handsets are not the company's future:
I am pleased with the strong performance of our software and technology business. This is key to BlackBerry's future growth. Our financials reflect increased investments to sales and customer support for our software business. In addition, we are taking steps to make the handset business profitable. We believe these actions are prudent and necessary to grow the business and we believe the remaining milestones in our strategic plan are achievable.
They are not the future, and they do not make money, but BlackBerry cannot seem to quit making smartphones. Chen says he believes the company can serve a niche, but that has so far not proven to be the case.
Trying to buck that tide, the company, which only shipped just over one million handsets in the last quarter, is back with another new model.
Not that newThe BlackBerry Passport Silver edition is a new take on the oddly shaped phone the company released to good reviews (and limited sales) earlier this year. Describing the new handset in a press release as "a premium device built for business professionals who want a smartphone with the mobile tools they need to get things done -- without sacrificing style or portability," the Silver is an attempt to win back the business niche that the company served in its heyday.
The new phone has a silver finish with "refined, curved corners, a square touchscreen display, and reinforced stainless steel frame for extra strength and durability." Of course, it has the traditional BlackBerry QWERTY touch-enabled keyboard as well as battery power that lasts more than a full day of mixed use, according to the company.
"We strive to deliver products that combine cutting-edge technology with purposeful, globally recognized design, and the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition is the latest manifestation of this vision," said Scott Wenger, Global Head of Design at BlackBerry.
Too little too lateIf there is any niche that BlackBerry might win back, it is business customers. The company's devices were practically standard issue for businesspeople during its heyday, but those users have moved on.
The original Passport was an elegant phone, and had it come out a few years earlier, it may have stopped the company's slide. Now, it is hard to see the once-mighty brand reclaiming a significant piece of the handset audience. Simply too much time has passed, and its former customers have found new brands.
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Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Source: BlackBerry Releases Passport Silver Edition Phone
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