Microsoft and BlackBerry are fighting to become viable alternatives in the mobile market, and while Android and iOS accounted for a majority of smartphone shipments in the first quarter, Windows Phone made some significant moves that propelled it ahead of BlackBerry. Research firm IDC found that Windows Phone shipped 7 million smartphones, accounting for 3.2% of all shipments in the first quarter of 2013, more than double the year-ago quarter. Microsoft was able to overtake BlackBerry, which despite its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, saw smartphone shipments decline from 9.7 million units to 6.3 million units, accounting for 2.9% of global channel sales. More →
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins announced on Tuesday at the BlackBerry Live event in Orlando, Florida that the company’s BlackBerry World storefront is now home to 120,000 applications, including both native BlackBerry 10 apps and ported Android apps. The platform continues to see steady growth, having recently added 20,000 applications in less than two months. BlackBerry 10 still suffers when it comes to the quality of apps, however. Earlier reports claimed that ported Android apps made up more than 20% of BlackBerry World’s offerings, while others were found to be low quality web apps. Popular apps such as Instagram and Netflix are still nowhere to be found. In fact, BlackBerry 10 only offers 34% of the most popular apps found on Android and iOS.
We have seen mixed reports regarding BlackBerry’s performance with the BlackBerry Q10, its first QWERTY toting BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Most industry watchers seems to think early Q10 sales have been strong, though a few analysts have strayed from the pack. RBC Capital Markets’ Mark Sue is in the first camp, though he noted in a new research note on Monday Q10 sales might not blow us away. Regardless, however, the analyst says BlackBerry has already succeeded in one respect: The Q10 is buying BlackBerry some time to turn things around. More →
At the company’s BlackBerry Live conference on Tuesday, BlackBerry announced what could be interpreted as zero positive news for the company. First, there’s the BlackBerry Q5 mid-range QWERTY handset that runs BlackBerry 10. Pricing was conveniently not announced. Industry watchers are chiming in saying that BlackBerry really needs to hit a $250 price point at full retail in order to compete in Asia and other similar markets. Let me spoil it for you. More →
When BlackBerry really began its tailspin in the summer of 2011, the reason was clear. Handsets in the new Bold lineup were too expensive for emerging markets and the cheap Curve phones were suddenly slammed by cheap Android competition. BlackBerry has known for years that its real problem is pricing. It was the Latin American demand shift for low-end Android phones that broke the company’s back two years ago. This is why it’s so puzzling that BlackBerry had chosen to kick off its comeback with two very expensive devices, the Z10 and the Q10. This in turn means that the vendor’s first budget device, the Q5, is absolutely crucial for BlackBerry’s future. More →
We’ve known BlackBerry has been planning to offer BBM on rival platforms for quite some time. Now that services like WhatsApp, iMessage and Kik are dominating the messaging world, BBM will finally expand beyond the BlackBerry platform. BlackBerry on Tuesday announced that BBM will launch this summer for Apple’s iPhone and for Android devices. The announcement came during the company’s Blackberry Live conference and details are limited thus far, though BlackBerry did confirm that messaging services and the new BlackBerry Channels service will both be supported by BBM for iOS and Android.
The BlackBerry Q10, BlackBerry’s first QWERTY smartphone equipped with its new operating system, will finally launch in the U.S. beginning in June. The announcement came during the company’s annual BlackBerry Live conference on Tuesday. No specific launch dates have been shared at this point in time, though Sprint has confirmed that it will launch the phone toward the end of the summer. BlackBerry had previously announced that the Q10 would begin rolling out in May in the U.S., and pricing would likely start at $250. More →
BlackBerry announced on Tuesday that its flagship BlackBerry 10 smartphone, the Z10, will be updated to the latest version of its next-generation operating system. The announcement came during the vendor’s BlackBerry Live conference, and BlackBerry 10.1 availability for the Z10 will be determined by carriers that offer the phone. Key features listed by Blackberry are as follows: More →
One of BlackBerry’s biggest challenges after the release of its initial high-end BlackBerry 10 smartphones was to launch a lower-cost device capable of shoring up the company’s market share in key emerging markets. The company did just that on Tuesday by announcing the BlackBerry Q5, a fully QWERTY keyboard BlackBerry 10 device that will launch in July in select markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The device features a 3.1-inch touch display and comes in multiple colors including black, silver and red. BlackBerry has not yet disclosed the device’s full specifications and pricing information.
Kevin Smithen of Macquarie Capital has become more optimistic about BlackBerry’s future, Barron’s reported. The analyst believes the QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry Q10 could be a bigger seller than the company’s first BlackBerry 10 smartphone, the BlackBerry Z10. Smithen notes that the Q10 will appeal to enterprise customers, who account for 13.4 million of the company’s total subscriber base. He estimates that as a whole the company will ship 4.3 million BlackBerry 10 devices in May but only 2.7 million in August, although he added that the “August estimate could prove to be conservative based on stronger enterprise demand for the Q10.” Smithen reiterated his Neutral rating on shares of BlackBerry with a price target of $17.
Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead firmly believes that both Windows Phone and BlackBerry play a crucial role in the mobile industry. The executive noted that it is important for there to be more than just two dominant operating systems. Mead revealed during a called with investors on Wednesday that the carrier has received good engagement from handset manufacturers and he is encouraged by what he has seen thus far. More →
BlackBerry kicked off its comeback efforts earlier this year when it launched the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, and the charge continued last month as the BlackBerry Q10 began rolling out. But while low-end and mid-range smartphones had played the biggest role in keeping BlackBerry alive as it readied its next-generation BlackBerry 10 smartphones, both of these new handsets were expensive high-end models. A number of industry watchers feared that the high-end smartphone market was already cluttered enough and BlackBerry should instead focus on its bread and butter, and a new leak suggests it might finally be ready to add a cheaper handset to its new device lineup. More →
