Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is apparently giving serious thought to the idea of releasing a device running Android.
According to a report by Reuters, the move would be an acknowledgement that the company’s revamped BlackBerry 10-powered smartphones have failed to win mass appeal.
BlackBerry has been struggling for years after consumer demand for Apple’s iPhone and phones powered by the Google-owned Android stole most of its market share in developed markets. The firm continued to do well for a while in emerging markets, including South Africa, but has also since gone into decline as the price of Android devices, in particular, has fallen.
If it does adopt Android, it would represent a big about-turn for the company, which had staked its future on the redesigned BlackBerry 10 OS. The company will reportedly use a keyboard-and-touch-screen-powered device to be released later this year as its first foray into the Android world.
According to Reuters, which doesn’t name its sources, saying they are not authorised to speak to the media, the move is part of a strategy by BlackBerry to “pivot to focus on software and device management”.
Its upcoming BES12 device management system not only manages BlackBerry phones, but also those running competing software such as iOS, Windows and Android.
The company, whose name was once synonymous with smartphones, now has a global market share of less than 1%.
“We don’t comment on rumors and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched,” it told Reuters in an e-mail.
BlackBerry’s share on the Nasdaq in New York was last trading at US$9,21/share, down by 16% since the beginning of the year but up by 20% on the same day a year ago, giving it a market capitalisation of $4,9bn. In the past five years, the counter has lost 85% of its value.
Meanwhile, BlackBerry has announced it has launched its new Leap smartphone in South Africa, with the device going sale with immediate effect. Powered by BlackBerry OS 10.3.1, the Leap has a five-inch HD display, 16GB of stage space and an 8-megapixel primary camera. — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media
