14 DAY TRIAL // BlackBerry launched a new Android-running smartphone this year, the DTEK50, and is now working on a new upcoming phone. The DTEK50 was actually a rebranded Alcatel Idol 4, while the upcoming DTEK60 is expected to be a re-branded TCL 950.
A report by BBC News reveals that BlackBerry will stop designing smartphones after 14 years. The company was once a market leader, but in recent years it has lost most of its market share to strong competitors like Apple and Samsung.
BlackBerry's market share dropped drastically in favor of Android and iOS smartphones. In 2009, BlackBerry had a fifth of the smartphone market, only to drop to 1% today.
BlackBerry has announced that it will outsource hardware development to its partners, but hasn't confirmed if other smartphones will be released. Analysts say that it's not profitable for the company to continue producing smartphones for a small share of the market that has stayed loyal to the brand. The company named only one of its partners, BB Merah Putih from Indonesia.
The hardware production business will shut down at the end of this fiscal year
Earlier this year, BlackBerry chief executive, John Chen stated that the company would know by September if the hardware business would become profitable. It seems that it didn't and BlackBerry will be outsourcing production.
BlackBerry also posted its financial results for the second quarter, which reveal a loss of $375 million, while revenues fell by a third to $334 million. The company won't be involved in the hardware manufacturing process of phones and will only collect a royalty fee from its partners.
At this point, it's unclear if future phones created in partnership with BlackBerry will be made available to the US, although the company still has a small base of fans here.
BlackBerry intends to shut down its internal hardware business by the end of this fiscal year. The company will be focusing on software that goes into upcoming BlackBerry phones, including the BlackBerry Hub and a suite of productivity apps.