Despite its struggles in the smartphone market, BlackBerry continues to try to gain market share from more entrenched rivals.
The company’s most recent offering, the Priv, initially had brisk sales before faltering. After a few months on the market, CEO John Chen admitted Priv sales are “not moving as fast as we’d like.”
Chen further told shareholders that if handset sales didn’t pick up to the point of breaking even, management would pull the plug on the division and focus on software.
Thus, much rides on the company’s next offerings, two new models that will be released later this year. Details are slim about the two new models, but according to industry rumors, the company plans to continue using Android as an operating system in both, further abandoning its BB10 operating software.
According to reports, BlackBerry’s new phones--code named the Rome and the Hamburg--will be more midrange devices, with only the Rome model having a physical keyboard. Hamburg users will have to use a touch keyboard.
Price tags for both phones will be considerably less than the Priv, which started off at $749 before being dropped to $649. The Rome, the higher end model of the two, could have a price tag as high as $500, while the Hamburg is reported to be priced closer to $400.
Both devices are somewhat expensive compared to the Priv’s new price, which can be as low as $399. Additionally, Priv sales are struggling because front line retail employees are better incentivized to push competing phones.
