BlackBerry Leap, Software Push, Pave Latest Strategy
BlackBerry (BBRY) chief executive John Chen, not one to shy away from setting daring goals, already is on record with one targeting $500 million annually in software-related revenue for the hardware-dependent mobile device maker to continue its climb to the profitability bar that still eludes it.
Now, all he has to do is keep finding ways to make it happen, last year bringing the vendor’s BBM mobile management platform to other devices, and last week, at Mobile World Congress, disclosing a plan to broaden BlackBerry’s cross-platform strategy to deliver the BlackBerry Hub and its virtual keyboard to the Android, Windows and iOS platforms.
In addition, at MWC BlackBerry added to an earlier enterprise mobility deal with Samsung with two new features on the Korean device maker’s handsets, one called WorkLife that enables employees to operate separate work and personal phone numbers on their device with a single SIM card, and another that delivers security to Samsung’s Knox-enabled smartphones such as the new Galaxy S6 for voice, data and text.
“We are going to build a business on putting [our software] on other people’s devices,” Chen said in a press briefing, as Re/code reported.
“I obviously love the software business,” he said. “This is not to say I am not interested in the handset business.”
Chen showed at MWC he isn’t neglecting BlackBerry’s hardware base–especially considering that 46 percent of its $793 million in FQ3 2015 revenue came from handset sales–rolling out the mid-market BlackBerry Leap to replace the vendor’s year-old Z3 model.
The Leap is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe next month priced at about $275.
BlackBerry also said it will bring to market to other devices in the next few months, both with keyboards, one of which is what the vendor referred to as a “dual curve all touch display,” featuring a keyboard positioned behind a slide, as Reuters reported.
“We don’t have a code name for it but I call it The Slide,” Chen said. “It will come some time this year,” he said, but didn’t identify a date.
