In hopes of revitalizing BlackBerry’s dying market, the new BlackBerry Passport with a physical keyboard, 4.5 inch square screen and a 30 hour battery life was newly released on September 24^th, 2014. The Passport phone has the dimensions of a passport and fits perfectly in a suit pocket.  It is designated for businesses since its screen is perfect for displaying enterprise-friendly documents such as medical charts and spreadsheets. The phone is retailed 299 with a two year plan and a hefty price of 699 without contract.  Along with the launch of the Passport phone, BlackBerry also launched a new app called the BlackBerry Blend which enables users to sync data across computers and other mobile devices without a virtual private network.

Judging from the on-going decrease of sales and lack of innovation of BlackBerry products over the past few years, it is obvious that this brand no longer appeals to the general public, especially compared to its rivals Samsung and Apple. However, BlackBerry’s new strategy allows them to play their strengths and create a smartphone targeted towards corporate users. This strategy of product differentiation offers a glimmer of hope for BlackBerry since there is definitely a lack smartphones that are directed towards corporate use on the market. Thus, there is a foreseeable market for the Passport and a likely possibility that businesses will purchase bulk numbers for their staff. Product differentiation is possibly the only realistic strategy for BlackBerry to rejuvenate itself and I think it will be fascinating to witness the results that Blackberry’s Passport phone yields.