A resurrected Blackberry with newer Brand, OS and Models for a fight back to regain lost ground against the stiff competition of Andoroid and iPhone.
The maker of the BlackBerry has introduced a completely re-engineered operating system, two new phones, and a new company name in the hope of reviving its dwindling market share.
The new Z10, which features a 4.2-inch full touch screen, and the Q10, which offers a physical keyboard, have been praised by reviewers and analysts; but with almost nine out of 10 smartphones sold now being either Android or iPhone, the company has an uphill battle to regain its previous mantle.
The new system, BlackBerry 10, is a marked improvement on its outdated predecessor. It’s built for deep social integration and fast typing, while allowing users to keep their work and personal data separate.
BlackBerry heavily courted developers to build corporate and consumer software for its anemic ecosystem, landing apps that range from Angry Birds to business software from SAP. Heins, focusing on the company’s appeal with business customers, said repeatedly that the phones are built for work and play.
BlackBerry released two phone models running on the new operating system — one with a physical keyboard and one without — with sleek, iPhone-like designs that depart from the clunky BlackBerry phones of old.
But even with good hardware and software, BlackBerry has to compete against Apple and Google, which hold more than 90 percent of the market and come out with new products every year.
“It’s hard to get traction for a new platform,” BCG Partners analyst Colin Gillis said. “There’s a good chance that this is the phone a lot of people think about but few people buy.”
The company is keenly aware that it has a lot of ground to regain. Even the company’s new creative director, singer Alicia Keys, said that she dropped her BlackBerry after seeing better-looking, more modern phones on the market.
Regaining customers like Keys is essential to BlackBerry’s success.
