This past week RIM released the newest competitor in the world of smartphones–the Blackberry Passport. In the first weekend that it was for sale, 200,000 units of this “competitor” were sold, however it is questionable whether it is worth it. Although the number may seem promising for the indebted company, it is one fifth the amount that Apple’s iPhone 6 sold in its first weekend on the market. To give blackberry a break, the Passport is not available in the US yet, however the Canadian-based company should have hit bigger in its home market if the company wanted to make a real comeback. RIM must sell 10 million devices per year to break even. These expectations would be easy for Apple or Samsung to meet, but it may be a lost cause for Blackberry. In such a competitive smartphone market, Blackberry is yet to establish a customer segment with their new expensive yet unique device. Blackberry used to be aimed towards business people for security reasons and for the convenient keyboard, but as RIM’s sales declined, so did their reputation. Even if the new Blackberry Passport is a brilliant device, Blackberry has been “out of the game” for years now with their declining stocks, lack of updates, and inefficient marketing. It may be true that Blackberry cannot compare to Apple, but that does not mean that capital should be invested in a company that is not able to differentiate or lower costs for their product.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/passport-sales-bode-well-for-blackberry-analyst-says/article20838923/