Android has taken sheen from many companies, Blackberry is certainly a good example. What is worse that its gamble on Android seems to have failed. If fourth quarter fiscal results are any indication, the road seems to have almost ended for the Canadian phone manufacturer.
The company has just sold 600,000 units in the last fiscal quarter. Just after the result, BlackBerry shares fell 7.3 percent to $7.50 in pre-market trading because of the clouds of uncertainties looming large on the company.
Though analysts were expecting for uptick in sales after the launch of Android powered Blackberry phones.According to CEO John Chen, company needs to sell at least three million handsets to come at operational break-even. However, it seems, considering the current level of sales, this seems more like a wishful thinking. Buyers are not jumping to purchase Blackberry phones to revive its fortunes.
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The company will continue using Android phones and is also targeting ultra-saturated high-end smartphone market. However, it seems Blackberry does not have place for these phones. Another thing is that it will be very hard for Blackberry to establish a place in the mid-range phone market considering that it’s a highly price sensitive area.
Moving in the Android segment also means that it has to compete with other Android heavyweights such as Samsung Galaxy, LG and HTC.
“This quarter or the next could determine if BlackBerry remains a hardware vendor,” said Avi Greengart, who covers consumer electronics for Current Analysis.
The success of its Android powered phone Priv is critical for the future of company as it has put almost all of its eggs in one basket.
However, Blackberry still has capacity to attract press. The company still retains a strong portfolio of services and it’s also showing a healthy growth. It has a suite of applications running successfully on Android.
