. | . |
BlackBerry kills off its Classic smartphone by Staff Writers San Francisco (AFP) July 5, 2016 BlackBerry on Tuesday said that it is killing off its Classic smartphone with a physical keyboard as part of an effort to modernize its lineup. "The hardest part in letting go is accepting that change makes way for new and better experiences," BlackBerry chief operating officer Ralph Pini said in a blog post. "We are updating our smartphone lineup with state-of-the-art devices." BlackBerry Classic and its iconic physical keyboard will no longer be part of the Canadian company's product portfolio, according to Pini. Classic and its predecessors have been "incredible workhorse" devices for users, but their lifespan is at an end, Pini said. The company will promised to continue to support BlackBerry 10 mobile operating software with updates. Blackberry continued bleeding red in the three months ending May 31, extending a two-year losing streak as the smartphone maker restructures, according to quarterly financials. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company posted a loss of US$670 million while revenues plunged to US$424 million -- about two-thirds of last year's take during the same period. Excluding hefty asset write-downs and restructuring charges, however, BlackBerry broke even in the fiscal 2017 first quarter. Its smartphone handset sales continued to stagnate in the face of competition from Apple and Android phones. BlackBerry has released its own smartphone powered by Android software, which is made available free by Google parent company Alphabet. BlackBerry chief executive John Chen said his aim is to make its smartphone business profitable this fiscal year. BlackBerry, one of the early pioneers of smartphones, has been struggling for years. It has made several efforts to find new customer niches, with low-cost devices, tablets and by shifting its emphasis to software and services.
Related Links Satellite-based Internet technologies
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |