We’ve argued in the past that BlackBerry has an important opportunity to reestablish itself as a status symbol for corporate executives and government officials who absolutely need to have top-notch security. Business Insider’s Jim Edwards reports that that having a BlackBerry is still a big deal for many people in Davos this week, where he’s noticed that “a lot of people here are conspicuously carrying two phones: an iPhone and a Blackberry.”
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Among others, Edwards has found that U.K. chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne still uses a BlackBerry, as well as “a member of the board of directors for a Middle Eastern central bank.” Edwards also talked with “an executive at a major aerospace manufacturer” who is using a massive new BlackBerry Passport because the device offers unparalleled security.
And it’s not just BlackBerry’s security that’s keeping these users on board — the aforementioned central bank exec, for instance, tells Edwards that BlackBerry devices’ keyboards still can’t be matched for quick communications.
While the number of BlackBerry users will never match the number of iPhone or Android phone users in the world, that’s really not the company’s goal anymore — instead it’s trying to sell a smaller number of devices to people who really need them for work. And as it turns out, this can be a potentially very lucrative market.
