Which ever way you look at it Blackberry are in trouble. To be fair the writing has been on the wall for some time now. It is unlikely that the company did not see the writing and see what it said, but more the fact that it could not actually respond quicker enough to some fundamental changes that were occurring in the mobile phone market.
The Blackberry, with the signature layout of hardware keyboard and screen, was beloved by kids who could type a text message faster than you could say it. The Blackberry Messaging service was also a must have for those kids in school to be where it mattered.
The business world also embraced the Blackberry, lured by the offer of secure business communication via encrypted messages and emails, supposedly safe from the prying eyes of all. Across these users, Blackberry built a massive loyal customer base that would only be buying another blackberry.
Wind forward not so very far and suddenly, mobile phones or smart phones as they are now referred to as, have to do a lot more than just send texts, emails and make calls as well. There was also the need for a screen big enough to view and use all the new Apps that had become available. Suddenly the Blackberry is not looking very smart at all. The screen is too small, the hardware keyboard looks outdated and it will not run any Apps.
Blackberry needed to change. It needed a new operating system.
Unfortunately, an all new operating system is not an easy thing to make and it took time, too much time to hold onto the previously loyal customers, When the new Blackberry’s arrived, the Z10 and Q10, they were also not really good enough.
Blackberry is now rumoured to be cutting production of the Z10 and Q10 in half, from 2 million units a month to 1 million units a month. Blackberry has also slashed the prices of the two models to sub £100 prices with Amazon offering a Z10 for only $49.00. It remains to be seen whether these rumours are true, but more importantly whether it is the normal reductions in current model inventories and prices ahead of a new product launch or an act of desperation. Maybe a vastly improved device, the A10, is on the cards?
