Is Blackberry Savable?

[Brapson]

To me Blackberry is really interesting company. Now hear me out; I know that Blackberry is sinking quite badly but you can't deny that at one point, Blackberry Phones were viewed as the premium mobile phone for business.

 

So what happened? Well in short the iPhone happened and many other modern smartphones followed suit with a similar design and concept. Blackberry however was very late to adapt to the change in the marketplace and as a result their product line up became outdated. The iPhone to the general consumer became the premium smartphone, a conversation starter in the early days of smartphones while Blackberry's became the phone you had until your contract ran out, so that you could then get an iPhone. Ultimately Blackberry was too late to adapt to the modern world of Smartphones with the Blackberry Z10 becoming their first proper attempt at a full touch smartphone, ditching the QWERTY keyboard they were known for.

 

I'm pretty sure those at Blackberry hoped that the Blackberry Z10 along with the Blackberry Q10 would change the companies fortunes but did they? No. They stuck with Blackberry OS which to me at least seems outdated and bland compared to: iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8. These products didn't turn the companies fortune around and I'm pretty sure that it made investors in the company wake up and begin to freak out. (If they hadn't already. I would have by then.)

 

From personal experience I know that in my High School up until the last year or so, Blackberry's were still the dominant phone. Which may surprise some of you. One of the reasons for this was Blackberry Messenger (BBM), the other factor probably being peer pressure. However that's recently changed the most common smartphones at my school have became iPhone's and a variety of different Samsung smartphones. Even though other messaging apps are available, people in my school now use BBM on these devices as it allows them to continue to stay in contact with those who still have Blackberry's however as that number decreases the number of Facebook posts complaining about BBM on iOS and Android increases. Maybe the port of BBM to other devices was the final nail in the coffin to Blackberry, it was it's only selling point to teens in my school even technically they are not Blackberry's traditional target market.

 

So is Blackberry savable? The optimistic side of me hopes that it is whereas the pessimistic side is laughing at that thought. If I was in charge of Blackberry I would put all company resources into designing a new smartphone, a phone that screams quality. I would ditch the dated Blackberry OS in favour of near to stock android (though possibly with duller colours, as the bright tones of stock android can be a little overpowering) and develop a set of killer in house apps perfect for business, including a more modern version of BBM, possibly some productivity applications and a stunning camera. (Because business men/women have kids too!) This would become the premium smartphone for business once more and if they can get that message through to businesses, then Blackberry may be on the long and hard path to recovery. So what next? Well in the hope that the new phone was doing well I would get the company to differentiate by releasing a separate line of phones, not under the Blackberry name to highlight that these smartphones are purely for play; with large screen sizes, bold colours and a snappy Nvidia Tegra 5 chip that is perfect for gaming. (Cherry Smartphones perhaps? Blueberry's?)

 

Of course that's just my personal action plan and I am in no way a business man, I'm still in high school! I don't know if Blackberry is savable or not but some part of me wants it to be. It's a company that I think is dealing with pride issues, similar to that of Nintendo with the WiiU (which I love as a console). Blackberry doesn't want to let go of the past and accept the way the smartphone market operates now, just as Nintendo doesn't quite want to accept that the casual gaming market they caught with the Wii has moved on to smartphones and tablets and more than likely don't know what the WiiU is.

 

So what do you think? Leave some comments down bellow and make sure to answer the poll above!

[thedigitalmilk]

Blackberry may be savable but they would really have to pull something special off, I would like to see them survive to be honest, but I don't really see it happening or I dont atleast see them ever being as big as what they once were. 

[SSOB]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/148300-post-pictures-of-how-you-would-visualize-the-tech-companies-at-this-moment-in-time/page-2

 

scroll down a little and look at what i posted.

 

U E N O!

[Brapson]

Blackberry may be savable but they would really have to pull something special off, I would like to see them survive to be honest, but I don't really see it happening or I dont atleast see them ever being as big as what they once were.

 

I agree with you, if they are going to be saved then some serious change needs to happen within the company. Someone has really got to work magic with Blackberry in order to save it. I don't see them becoming as big as they once were in the near future but in the far future (if they survive) anything is possible. Who knows, if Apple get's lazy and doesn't innovate they could very well go down the same path.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/148300-post-pictures-of-how-you-would-visualize-the-tech-companies-at-this-moment-in-time/page-2

 

scroll down a little and look at what i posted.

 

U E N O!

 

Yep, that is the perfect personification of Blackberry.

[TopWargamer]

If they start making Android phones, possibly. 

[Brapson]

If they start making Android phones, possibly. 

 

Yes, I completely agree with you dude. Blackberry OS is so outdated looking and if they transferred over to android not only would it be easier for the general consumer to use their phone it would give the consumer access to a much larger app selection.