BlackBerry Ltd is bringing a change around in its product line so that it doesn’t just become another company with a tombstone dug too early. It launched its first Android-based device on Friday. The future of the company’s hardware business is riding on a its smartphone called Priv which the company says comes with an impressive array of features and an equally hefty price tag.
The company which once was the darling of the market is hoping to gain some share of the market by betting on its Priv. The phone’s large curved screen, full array of Android apps from the Google Play store and blend of productivity and security features will help the company with some positive growth figures and cash inflow.
The company is capitalising on its USP of providing one of the most secure smartphone. While hacking and data theft on a rapid rise, BlackBerry expects to attract market on its pre-loaded DTEK feature that alerts users every time any app attempts to access data, or turn on the phone’s microphone or camera.
“You will be blown away by some of the apps you use and how much data they actually access of yours,” said BlackBerry’s head of devices, Ron Louks.
The smartphone’s “wow” factor, as Louks dubs it, is actually a throwback – a slide out physical keyboard. While the small number of such Android ‘slider’ phones that do exist have had little success in the market, most are dated and clunky, say various analysts.