Blackberry’s chief executive officer, John Chen, announced an update for Blackberry’s most recent upcoming product: the Blackberry Passport. Although similar to the iPhone in a variety of ways, the Passport attempts to outperform their largest competitor on a technical level. The Passport carries a 4.5 inch screen, which allows the reader to “’view 60 characters on each line, which is substantially more than typical, rectangular smartphones such as iPhones. The phone also includes a battery life of 36 hours. Blackberry’s latest attempt at a competitive advantage, however, was their decision to price their product at $599. Compared to other smartphones on the market with prices ranging from $600-$750, Blackberry is taking a bold step in appealing to a wider range of consumers.
But will this be enough? It has only been four days since Apple released their most recent product, the iPhone 6, and already 10 million units have been sold worldwide. It is obvious that Blackberry is trying to obtain a cost advantage over Apple, but with only a $150 difference in pricing, Blackberry will have to step up its marketing efforts if it hopes to compete with the almighty brand power of Apple. The conflicting sales schedules with the iPhone 6 will undoubtedly take a toll on revenues for the Passport. As a cellular phone consumer, this article is the first I have heard about the Passport at all, which is a clear sign in Blackberry’s lacking focus on advertising in North America. On the other side of the spectrum, the iPhone 6 has been the hype of conversation for months. Blackberry has already suffered financial losses in the past few years, and sales need to improve to stabilize the company. It takes a lot of work to compete with the innovation of Apple, but I believe just as much (if not more) effort should be focused on marketing and allocating the phones to the appropriate audiences as it should be on innovating the phone industry. Industrial analysts will have to wait and see how Blackberry’s Passport sells when it hits markets on Wednesday, September 24.
Bibliographic Reference
The Globe and Mail. “Blackberry’s John Chen on new Passport: Big Screen, Lower Cost Than
iPhone.” The Globe and Mail Magazine. The Globe and Mail, 2014. Web. 22 September 2014
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