BlackBerry has had a bit of a rough go of it lately, posting losses in its recent earnings reports and revealing that its older BlackBerry 7 phones are outselling its new BlackBerry 10 models. Despite these rough times, CEO John Chen says that he has no intention of selling BlackBerry’s handset business.
According to a recent Reuters report, Chen said that he “will not be in the handset business” if he can’t make money in it, suggesting that he would consider selling BlackBerry’s phone biz if it continues to stumble. Today Chen put up a post on the Inside BlackBerry blog to clarify that comment, saying that it was taken out of context.
Chen explains that his focus is on finding a way to make BlackBerry profitable again. In addition to selling handsets, the company is also working to gain revenue from enterprise services, software, messaging and Machine to Machine technologies. Chen adds that he and his company will do all that it can to rebuild BlackBerry and offer phones with the “iconic keyboard” and other features that BlackBerrys are known for.
BlackBerry recently revealed two new BB10 phones that it hopes will revitalize its business. The first is a low-cost, full-touch unit known as the Z3 that is targeted at emerging markets but will also see a North American release. The second phone is the Q20, also known as the “Classic,” which emulates the BlackBerry 7 phones of old by sporting a trackpad, physical keyboard and a set of Menu, Back, Send and End buttons.
Via Reuters, Inside BlackBerry
