The fact that BlackBerry is struggling to remain on the market is not a secret anymore, as the past few years weren’t the best for the Canadian manufacturer. The situations in which the tech community talked about BB’s retirement weren’t just a few, so for a lot of us it could be a big surprise that they’re still making phones.
This should be the ‘savior’ we were waiting for
Currently, they’re relying on the new BlackBerry Priv, the company’s last hope and also, the first Android-powered phone from the company’s history. According to CNET, back in 2013, when John Chen was appointed as CEO, the talks with Google had already began, as he was considering this to be the only solution.
Two years later, the BlackBerry Priv marks the first time when the Canadian manufacturer releases a device not powered by their own operating system. Hopefully, it will be a success, otherwise we might not see any BlackBerry phones any time soon.
But what makes this $700 phone special? Well, Mr. John Chen and his team hope that the combination between a very interesting form factor – a slider with a touchscreen and Android – will win over nostalgic users who are still craving for a physical keyboard but can’t live without a high-end spec sheet.
It NEEDS to be a success
On the other side, if the BlackBerry Priv turns out to be a flop, it will pretty much be the company’s end. This isn’t the first time they came up with declarations like this, as we’ve heard things like “we’ll retire from the smartphone business if the next phone doesn’t bring profits”, but hopefully, they will keep existing and keep releasing phones.
After all, let’s not ignore the fact that BlackBerry makes very well-built phones, and, most important, secure. It would be a shame for a name with such a history to disappear!
What are your thoughts on this? Will the BlackBerry Priv be a success?
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