I’ve previously blogged about mobile operating systems and touched on the brief rise and ultimate demise of Blackberry. They didn’t quite go entirely under but it’s safe to say that their user base has reduced significantly. Peaking in 2011, after 8 years their revenue plummeted to just over 900 million dollars. It’s been four years since the tech company signed a partnership with Chinese company TCL to produce blackberry phones. Blackberry operating system was a thing of a pass and it was deemed as acceptance of the end of the road in mobile manufacturing.
Throwing in the towel is brave and blackberry wanted to make use of their existing technology to claw back any profit possible. The partnership allowed TCL to release phones branded as blackberry along with the iconic keyboard. I loved this keyboard but after a decade of touchscreen use, this is no longer an appealing feature that I deem as essential. I can type out words just as fast on my touch screen phone, perhaps even faster if you found the physical buttons a little fiddly or too small. Blackberry would focus on software development and security of their android variant and TCL puzzled hardware together. In theory, this is a smart move that would allow continuous flow of cash to Blackberry but this agreement is now coming to an end.
It’s unclear as to why this agreement is being broken down, perhaps the companies do not see eye to eye. In my view, the challenge of appealing to a very niche user group who want physical buttons on their android phone is a very hard sell. I am no fan of TCL when it comes to consumer technology, their company has some cool ideas and has done well in the Chinese market but you can search up a few reviews from different parts of the globe about their phones, it’s not pretty. Perhaps if Blackberry had partnered with another brand, done away with the physical keyboard, focused on strong user support and security, it might have really taken off. Some ideas are meant to be left in the past and customer service is a big deal in today’s market. TCL are not the most reputable brands coming out of China and it might be an indication that Blackberry need to rethink their direction moving forwards. It may not be the end of a Blackberry in the new decade but I’m sure it won’t be missed by many in the meantime.
Lockhart Tech Blogs
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266240/global-revenue-of-rim-since-2004/
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/3/21120107/tcl-blackberry-ends-phone-global-rights-date-2020