According to a Wednesday news report from Reuters, sixty-percent of United States-based Fortune 500 companies are either testing or utilizing a new BlackBerry system, perhaps hinting at a rise back toward prominence for the company.
The BlackBerry brand has been a major player in the mobile phone industry since 1999, but the company has struggled over the past half decade or so due to heavy competition from emerging powerhouses like Apple and Android. However, a new line of next-gen BlackBerry phones is on the way, and company chief operation office Kristian Tear has hopes that the quality of the new devices–coupled with a new system built with large business entities in mind–will help BlackBerry lure its old base of corporate or government customers back into the fold.
The new system–dubbed the BlackBerry Enterprise Service–is currently in the testing phase with a majority of United States Fortune 500 companies, and if successful, could allow those companies to manage a new line of BlackBerry devices on their own “internal networks.”
The other piece of that, of course, are the devices themselves, all of which will run on the brand-new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Earlier this year, a touchscreen model called the BlackBerry Z10 launched into the smartphone market, and as of this week, United States carriers will be offering the keyboard-powered Q10 as well. Users familiar with the traditional BlackBerry design–which features a small, physical keyboard rather than a sleeker and more modern-looking touch screen–will likely be glad to see the old design back on the market.
“There are a lot of very loyal BlackBerry keyboard users out there who have been waiting for this and I think, with the Q10, we will also be able to win back prior BlackBerry customers, who are now trying other platforms,” Tear remarked.
If BlackBerry is hoping to steal back the tremendous market shares they have lost since Apple and Android arrived on the scene, then going back to basics and offering a throwback model isn’t a bad way to start. While touch screens are the norm in smartphones these days, many consumers are frustrated with newer phones and their unresponsive virtual keyboards or inaccurate auto-correct options. Anyone feeling wistful for a good old physical keyboard–something that is increasingly hard to find in smartphone selections–will have their attention drawn to the new BlackBerry.
The bigger question is whether or not BlackBerry will be able to regain their reputation as the phone used by corporations or professional business types. The iPhone has usurped that role in recent years, and dethroning Apple is never a simple proposition.
The BlackBerry Q10 is currently on sale through T-Mobile, and will hit the shelves at Verizon and AT&T stores in the coming weeks. Sprint will add the phone to their selection sometime this summer.
The BlackBerry brand has been a major player in the mobile phone industry since 1999, but the company has struggled over the past half decade or so due to heavy competition from emerging powerhouses like Apple and Android. However, a new line of next-gen BlackBerry phones is on the way, and company chief operation office Kristian Tear has hopes that the quality of the new devices–coupled with a new system built with large business entities in mind–will help BlackBerry lure its old base of corporate or government customers back into the fold.
The new system–dubbed the BlackBerry Enterprise Service–is currently in the testing phase with a majority of United States Fortune 500 companies, and if successful, could allow those companies to manage a new line of BlackBerry devices on their own “internal networks.”
The other piece of that, of course, are the devices themselves, all of which will run on the brand-new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Earlier this year, a touchscreen model called the BlackBerry Z10 launched into the smartphone market, and as of this week, United States carriers will be offering the keyboard-powered Q10 as well. Users familiar with the traditional BlackBerry design–which features a small, physical keyboard rather than a sleeker and more modern-looking touch screen–will likely be glad to see the old design back on the market.
“There are a lot of very loyal BlackBerry keyboard users out there who have been waiting for this and I think, with the Q10, we will also be able to win back prior BlackBerry customers, who are now trying other platforms,” Tear remarked.
If BlackBerry is hoping to steal back the tremendous market shares they have lost since Apple and Android arrived on the scene, then going back to basics and offering a throwback model isn’t a bad way to start. While touch screens are the norm in smartphones these days, many consumers are frustrated with newer phones and their unresponsive virtual keyboards or inaccurate auto-correct options. Anyone feeling wistful for a good old physical keyboard–something that is increasingly hard to find in smartphone selections–will have their attention drawn to the new BlackBerry.
The bigger question is whether or not BlackBerry will be able to regain their reputation as the phone used by corporations or professional business types. The iPhone has usurped that role in recent years, and dethroning Apple is never a simple proposition.
The BlackBerry Q10 is currently on sale through T-Mobile, and will hit the shelves at Verizon and AT&T stores in the coming weeks. Sprint will add the phone to their selection sometime this summer.