Blackberry is using its last lifeline as it adopts Android fully. Blackberry Priv was the first attempt at the crowded Android platform and the company probably made a mistake making it a high-end device. It sold only 600,000 in the last quarter which is even smaller than expected. The Priv has been praised by reviewers but something is missing.
A high-end phone from a company desperately trying to survive didn’t really get the average consumer’s attention. In an interview with an Abu Dhabi based newspaper, The National, Blackberry CEO John Chen confirms the company is working on two mid-range Android phones to be released later this year. One of this devices will sport a physical keyboard like the Priv and the other will have a full touchscreen display and no keyboard.
Admitting that Blackberry Priv was a mistake, John Chen said:
The fact that we came out with a high end phone [as our first Android device] was probably not as wise as it should have been.
The biggest mistake with the Priv was the initial price of $700. There’s a chance the device would sold more units if the price was below $400. At the moment, this devices costs over 200,000 in Nigeria.
John Chen admitted that several enterprise customers even complained about the $700 price tag on the Priv and would rather go for a phone that costs around $400 instead.
It has already come to the point where Blackberry makes it or call it quits with the phone business. If the planned devices too flop, the end of Blackberry may be upon us already.
