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BlackBerry stops designing its own phones | BlackBerry stops designing its own phones |
(35 minutes later) | |
BlackBerry is to stop designing smartphones in-house after 14 years, the company has announced. | BlackBerry is to stop designing smartphones in-house after 14 years, the company has announced. |
Once a market leader, the company has struggled to keep pace with modern handsets produced by rivals such as Apple and Samsung. | Once a market leader, the company has struggled to keep pace with modern handsets produced by rivals such as Apple and Samsung. |
In May, the company's chief executive, John Chen, said he would know by September whether the hardware business was likely to become profitable. | In May, the company's chief executive, John Chen, said he would know by September whether the hardware business was likely to become profitable. |
Now, BlackBerry says it will outsource hardware development to partners. | Now, BlackBerry says it will outsource hardware development to partners. |
But the company has not yet confirmed when any further BlackBerry phones will be released. | But the company has not yet confirmed when any further BlackBerry phones will be released. |
"BlackBerry can't keep producing its own phones indefinitely just to serve a small subset of its clients addicted to its home-grown devices," said Ben Wood of the CCS Insight consultancy. | |
"BlackBerry had made no secret of the fact that it might shut down its own phone-making business. Pushing it out to a third party is a sensible solution - but any manufacturer making BlackBerry branded devices will ultimately face the same challenges." | |
'I said a year' | |
Mr Chen has been candid about the future of BlackBerry's handset business, saying he would consider closing the division if it could not become profitable. | Mr Chen has been candid about the future of BlackBerry's handset business, saying he would consider closing the division if it could not become profitable. |
In May, he told Bloomberg that he would know by September whether that was likely. | In May, he told Bloomberg that he would know by September whether that was likely. |
"The first time I made that statement was September a year ago," said Mr Chen. | "The first time I made that statement was September a year ago," said Mr Chen. |
"When people ask me, 'How long will it take?'... I said a year. So, it's going to be September this year." | "When people ask me, 'How long will it take?'... I said a year. So, it's going to be September this year." |
In October 2015, BlackBerry changed the direction of its handset business by producing its first smartphone running Google's Android operating system, rather than its own BB10 software. | In October 2015, BlackBerry changed the direction of its handset business by producing its first smartphone running Google's Android operating system, rather than its own BB10 software. |
However, Mr Chen has admitted the device, which featured a slide-out physical keyboard, was too expensive to appeal to a mass market. | However, Mr Chen has admitted the device, which featured a slide-out physical keyboard, was too expensive to appeal to a mass market. |
The company has since launched a less expensive touchscreen-only Android handset, based on a phone released by Alcatel-owner TCL. |