Is Blackberry “Back in Business”?

 

Blackberry, the company that’s been struggling to make it’s mark in the smartphone industry in recent years, have recently introduced their latest and greatest- the Passport. Sporting an untraditional design and aimed at the business market, the Passport sold all of it’s 200,000 units just two days after the launch of the device. Although the units sold are certainly no match for the newly released iPhone 6, the device was once again sold out immediately after the Blackberry online store was restocked. However, in today’s business world, many firms implement a “bring your own device” policy, in which means the Blackberry may have trouble competing with the  sea of iPhones and Samsung’s. I believe Blackberry’s traditional selling point, which is the physical keyboard, is no longer a value proposition to most consumers. Text input on touch screen keyboards nowadays are accurate enough that a physical keyboard not only takes away from the screen real estate of a device, but also makes the device seem old fashioned. While the Passport is certainly a good start for Blackberry, I would suggest that a shift in the companies priorities. Rather than trying to capitalize on an old and unwanted technology, Blackberry should go back to the Business Model Canvas if it wishes to be the dominant force it was 10 years ago.

 

 

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