Dive Brief:
- Blackberry announced that its next phone will run Android and include BlackBerry security and productivity tools, Chairman and CEO John Chen told investors early Friday.
- The company said the new phone should be available by year-end, CIO reports.
- On Friday, BlackBerry reported revenue of US $490 million for the last quarter, down from $916 million a year earlier.
Dive Insight:
Despite indications that BlackBerry would finally move away from the highly competitive mobile phone market to focus on the enterprise mobile device and application management software sector, Chairman and CEO John Chen told investors on Friday that the company will soon introduce Android-based Priv.
The company said the new phone will be a slider device with enterprise security features. The move to an Android-based device indicates BlackBerry is attempting to attract a broader user base.
Though BlackBerry’s Software licensing revenue jumped 33% this year, and the company has made several purchases to strengthen its offerings in other areas, it appears set on holding on in the phone market.
