If you thought that Blackberry is out of the smartphone manufacturing business, we would love to tell you that you are wrong. The company is all set to make a comeback, after the partnership with TCL ended last year. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for the brand to find a new partner.
OnwardMobility, Blackberry’s newest partner, announced in a press release last year that they will come with new Blackberry smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards.
The joy and ease of typing on a physical keyboard is something many people miss. With the advent of touchscreen-based smartphones, physical keyboards quickly became obsolete.
The company announced in the press release that they will launch new smartphones with QWERTY keyboard in Europe and America.
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New Blackberry devices to be launched in Asia too
However, according to the website Nikkei Asia, the company is soon going to expand its business in Asia. OnwardMobility is currently developing the new Blackberry smartphone in conjunction with the Taiwan based company Foxconn.
The CEO and Founder of OnwardMobility, Peter Franklin told Nikkei that Asia is one of the most important markets for the company.
Having said that, if you are thinking that the device will hit the markets soon, that’s not the case. Peter Franklin said that they will bring the device to Asia as soon as possible.
Founded in 2019, OnwardMobility’s founder Peter Frankling has worked for Microsoft and the popular online gaming company Zynga.
Blackberry was extremely popular due to its form factor, which enabled users to make use of physical keyboards on mobile phones. Before Android devices gained popularity, Blackberry phones were the go-to devices for professionals.
After nearly going bankrupt, the company stopped selling smartphones and shifted its focus to providing cybersecurity solutions. The Chinese company TCL picked up the Blackberry brand license and launched several devices under the brand’s name. However, due to lack of sales, the company called it quits last year.
Blackberry has ditched its own operating system in favour of Android, but still retains its signature physical keyboard and security-focused apps. The company is all set to release the new devices with 5G connectivity.
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Why Blackberry can make a comeback
According to Franklin, the need for secure devices has increased due to people working from home. This is where Blackberry comes in. Their devices are less vulnerable to data leaks and attacks, which are increasing every year passing by.
The main challenge lies in developing a secure smartphone that is highly functional as well. Also, manufacturers such as Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi also offer high end smartphone at affordable rates.
It will be very hard for Blackberry to regain its popularity in the smartphone market since their smartphones come at a premium price.
All-in-all, we hope that the company will regain its pre-2010 popularity and offer devices that compete with the current market.
Do you think smartphones with physical keyboards still hold a place in the smartphone market? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Narender Kumar
Always on the quest to learn and share the knowledge. Big fan of books (but not the self help ones) specially fiction. A grammar Nazi who loves to eat, cook, travel and watching thunderstorms.