The Return of Blackberry

I am one of the few people I know that was actually excited about the release of the Blackberry Z10 in the United States last Friday. I believe that there is a smaller demand for the Blackberry device because it was evident that, at one point, they were not keeping up with the fast paced world of smart phones. This was due largely in part to the release of the Apple iPhone, and in my opinion, the fact that the original co-founders have been running the company for the last 30 years. When running a company in an industry that is advancing at such a fast pace, it is important to remain current and to make it a priority to, at minimum, keep up with competitors. Granted, Blackberry (which I think was still Research In Motion at the time) released two touch screen Blackberries, but made very little improvement to the interface and OS overall.

The retirement of co-founders and co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie has given the company an opportunity to move away from its traditional ways, come up with new ideas, and be more innovative.  The Blackberry Z10 is the first of several phones that will be released from Blackberry featuring the Blackberry 10 operating system.  The development and release of this phone has already resulted in a large turn around for the company. Just in the company's final fiscal quarter alone, they have shipped at total of six million Blackberry devices and one million of the new Z10 devices.  Since the fiscal quarter ended March 2, these figures do not even include shipments in the United States. Financially, the company is make huge improvements in regards to net income from continuing operations. This time last year, the company suffered a net loss of $118 million. Fortunately, this time around with the they are back on the positive scale with a net income of $94 million. These numbers are only for a single quarter. They do not capture supply constraints. Not to mention, the Z10 has not been out for an entire quarter yet.

While Blackberry still has a lot of catching up to do they have the right idea moving forward. In addition to the release of the Blackberry Z10, the company plans to start shipping the Blackberry Q10 smart phone in April, which will be less expensive and features the traditional Blackberry keyboard.  Blackberry is pushing for current subscribers to begin upgrading their devices from BB7 to BB10 so that they may begin to see the benefit of the BB 10 OS. The company is also looking to take a dip into other industries moving forward. If they continue on the path they're on, I have very little doubt that the company can be amongst the top competitors in the industry again.

They may have fallen off, but with new leadership, the death of Steve Jobs, and the fact the google has too many endeavours, Blackberry has a great opportunity to make a return if they take advantage.  Be a company that focuses on development and innovation of mobile media devices. Take advantage of the holes that your competitors put themselves in. Pay attention to your consumers and their demands. Stay current with industrial patterns. Expand your market. These things will help Blackberry become the company it once was.

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