BlackBerry might exit the handset business

[Himanshu Arora]

Blackberry might sell its handset unit if the company continues to be in the red, CEO John Chen told Reuters yesterday. "If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business", he said, adding that a final decision in this regard will be taken soon.

In March, the Canadian company reported a quarterly net loss of $423 million, compared with a $98 million profit from the prior year's quarter, and a 64 percent drop in its revenues. The company was at its peak in 2011, when it shipped 52.3 million devices.

Although Blackberry is apparently mulling exiting mobile phone-making business, the company will continue working on its mobile operating system, software business, and enterprise server services, Chen said.

Also, the company is planning to acquire or team up with other companies in industries such as healthcare, financial and legal services, and more, that could benefit from BlackBerry's well-known network security offerings.

The company has lost most of its smartphone market to Apple and Google. Last August, it even announced that it was up for sale, but the option was put on the back burner when Chen took the helm of the company in November. The new CEO is hopeful that the company will return to profit sometime in 2016.

Chen is viewed by tech industry insiders as a turnaround artist. In the late 1990s, he turned around enterprise software company Sybase, which was eventually acquired by SAP AG in 2010.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56343-blackberry-might-exit-the-handset-business.html

 

[Teko03]

Exit, would be terrible decision Solution? Maybe down size the company, leave the consumer handset market, cater completely to DoD needs. Add additional security features + built-in CAC readers.

 

[KippH]

From Inside BlackBerry Follow up from John Chen Today!

Yesterday, Reuters published an article that said I would consider selling our Devices business. My comments were taken out of context.

I want to assure you that I have no intention of selling off or abandoning this business any time soon.‎ I know you still love your BlackBerry devices. I love them too and I know they created the foundation of this company. Our focus today is on finding a way to make this business profitable.

BlackBerry is not a handset-only company. We offer an end-to-end solution and devices are an important part of that equation. That’s why we’re complementing our Devices business with other revenue streams from enterprise services and software, to messaging. We’re also investing in emerging solutions such as Machine toMachine technologies that will help to power the backbone of the Internet of Things.

We will do everything in our power to continue to rebuild this business and deliver devices with the iconic keyboard and other features that you have come to expect from this brand.‎

Rest assured, we continue to fight. We have not given up and we are not leaving the Devices business.

 

[Guest]

I wonder why they did not target the privacy-oriented (formerly known as: paranoid) market segment... could have been relatively easy with their experience and infrastructure.

 

[Guest]

How about recruiting Greg Christie (iPhone interface creator) who has leave apple and then re-redesign the new blackberry handset instead?