BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY)’s plans to unveil a square-screened smartphone are further emphasizing Chief Executive Officer John Chen’s shift away from the consumer market toward business and professional users.
The Passport is BlackBerry’s first major new device slated for a global introduction since Chen set out in November to turn around the company, and some details of the mobile phone have been slowly released for months. BlackBerry has scheduled eventstomorrow in Toronto, London and Dubai -- two days before the company releases second-quarter earnings results.
The Passport has a 4.5-inch (11.4-centimeter) screen and a qwerty keyboard that doubles as a touch-sensitive swipe pad, and the focus on work productivity stands in contrast to Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s new iPhone 6 and larger iPhone 6 Plus that cater to video consumption for the consumer market. BlackBerry will sell the new handset for $599 in the U.S. without a mobile plan, undercutting the iPhone 6, which went on sale last week for $649.
Since taking the helm, Chen has outsourced manufacturing to Foxconn Technology Group and focused BlackBerry’s efforts on selling device management and messaging software to security-conscious companies and governments. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s software is now available on iPhones and Android devices.
It’s all part of Chen’s plan to reach break-even cash flow by the end of this fiscal year and return to profitability during the year that will end in March 2016. The company isn’t there yet, and analysts are projecting a loss of 15 cents a share, excluding one-time items, for the quarter than ended Aug. 31.
No comments:
Post a Comment