With the release of Blackberry’s new product, it is safe to say that Blackberry is no longer under the threat of demolition. On the first day of its release, it collected orders over 200,000. So what makes the Passport any different from its previous products? First and foremost, Blackberry is now using a focus strategy with a mixture of both a low cost and a differentiation strategy. Not only have they limited their target audience to business owners, but also professionals in health care and financial industries. The phone is available for $599 in the United States, $50 less than what the iPhone 6 went on sale for. Aside from the lower cost, the size of the screens have taken into becoming a square 4.5 x 4.5 inch screen with a keypad that serves as a touch-sensitive swipe pad.

Even with the Passport, Blackberry may find itself to have difficulties winning over their consumers. In addition to the narrow market segment, they are also competing with the ever popular release of the iPhone 6 and the Nexus 5. The key feature – its square screen – may serve as a weakness as well. Their target market may not enjoy the the screen size, which prevents them from typing with one hand. CEO Chen might want to reconsider the size of the Passport albeit it being a distinctive feature of their new product. Celebrity endorsements may raise consumers’ interests, and instead of inviting a sports player (as they had with Wayne Gretzky) they may want to consider inviting a well known player in the finance or health care industry to endorse their product. By doing so, it will boost the consumers’ confidence in the Passport, inducing them to purchase it as well.

There are still lots of room for improvement in Blackberry’s new product and hopefully they will be able to solve these issues for their next release a few years from now.

Source: Blackberry’s Square Passport Phone Targets Business Users
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