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New flight or swan song? Repeatedly buried, yet still alive, the Canadian BlackBerry, former Research in Motion (RIM) is still moving and wanted to prove, Wednesday, Sept. 24, unveiling his latest: a “square” smartphone, dimensions copied from , universal passport.
The question is whether this model will sign the end of the decline in Canada, which reached its heyday in the mid-2000s with its popular smartphones in government, finance and the business community in general. Today, the company holds only 0.5% market share globally. End of 2013, the company was officially for sale
See also:. Catastrophic results for the BlackBerry, which now focuses on software
FOCUS
The companies and institutions are an important part of its customer base – “16 G20 governments’ says David Derrida, product manager – and it is on this core business that the firm intends to refocus after a period of drastic fiscal consolidation. With its widescreen adapted according BlackBerry, consulting and publishing papers, its long duration and its 32 GB of memory (expandable to 128GB) battterie, BlackBerry intends regain its traditional markets.
The release of a new phone is surprising. The arrival of John Chen at the helm of the company in November 2013 has been interpreted rather as a strategic choice in favor of software and cybersecurity.
After years of losses, the former RIM posted profits last quarter. But financial recovery does not necessarily portend a return of affection from customers disappointed by a brand that, after years of market dominance, has largely rested on its laurels and has made overtaking almost all other manufacturers.
“By focusing on professional, the BlackBerry has cut 70% of the market, says an industry expert, he did not put the necessary upgrades and ultimately, the brand is made out by customers themselves. ”
Roberta Cozza, an analyst at Gartner in London, the former RIM offers “too little, too late” and “definitely lost mass market “. The BlackBerry universe is open late applications and external operating systems (OS) such as Android effect, which does not help to attract developers, whose role is important in the success of an OS and a smartphone. The manufacturer has also been slow to offer touchscreens, convinced that part of the users would never give up the physical screen.
A SMARTPHONE NICHE
The company still has “some valuable licenses in the field of security” , shade Roberta Cozza, while its competitors have had ample time and financial resources to upgrade. Its strength lies particularly in the fact that its services are hosted “on premises” (“in place”), and therefore depend neither on the cloud or external servers. “It’s good, but it’s very expensive says the specialist of the smartphone market, and it encourages BlackBerry to run on its achievements. “
Although quite innovative with its square shape and hybrid keyboard, Passport may use simple showcase for secure software on which BlackBerry focuses its expertise.
Except that even in software, competitors are there, and it will not be easy to convince managers of computer systems to adopt a fleet of BlackBerry Passport while big names such as Microsoft, propose solutions that combine mobile PCs, tablets and smartphones in a completely integrated environment.
If this new version of the “mature” does not find its audience, the chances of maintaining BlackBerry on the market are compromised. Its survival might, according to observers, through a scenario to Nokia, that is to say, a purchase by a large group that would have the strength and resources to make a major transformation. “The problem is that BlackBerry is both hardware and software” , explains one analyst, “that does not facilitate the recovery of a particular activity” .
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