BlackBerry CEO wants to sell 5 million phones a year

by Volker Weber

In an interview at the Code Mobile conference today, CEO John Chen told The Verge that his goal is to sell five million smartphones a year, which will be necessary to make the business profitable. If that doesn't happen, Chen hinted that BlackBerry may exit handset business altogether, which would be a huge shift from the BlackBerry of the past.

BlackBerry is faced with a tough situation. The transition from legacy BlackBerry to BlackBerry 10 was not successful. The app gap is too large to ignore and BB10 devices are not sought after. This is a death spiral. No apps, no users, no devices, no apps ... There are customers who don't give a #*$& about apps. They want a secure messaging device only. For those BlackBerry is going to continue to maintain the software, but they are not buying new devices very often.

The BlackBerry Priv has to be a success to keep BlackBerry in the devices business. Android has plenty of apps and buying a Priv does not seem like a bad idea. It's the only viable escape route. BlackBerry cannot license iOS and Windows has its own share of app problems.

We will not hear much about the most interesting discussion: will security conscious business accept an Android device from BlackBerry? If BlackBerry can convince these customers, they may have a shot. BlackBerry cannot compete against LG, Samsung and the new crop of Chinese manufacturers on price. They can only compete on security.

Will there be another BB10 device after the Passport, the Classic and the Leap? I don't think there will. Will there be another Android device from BlackBerry after the Priv? Only if it is a moderate success.

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Comments

sad but true! I am still no Android-Fan but i hope they will have success with the priv. For myself i am trying to live as long as possible with my passport. Note to myself: buy the silver edition as backup... ;-)

Ralph Hammann, 2015-10-09

I really hope for BBs sake, that this is possible. I do not see, how.

Hubert Stettner, 2015-10-09

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