BlackBerry will launch two mid-range Android phones this year according to CEO Jack Chen.
One will have a physical keyboard while the other will have full touch screen, reported BBC News. Both handsets will be designed and priced looking at affordability as a consideration as Chen admits the company's first Android offering, Priv, was a little too expensive.
Chen's statement was affirmed by a very blurry image that appeared last week on the BBM channel of BlackBerry Central founder Dylan Habkirk. 'BlackBerry Hamburg' and 'BlackBerry Rome' prototypes were pictured and were both described as mid-range devices with two new hardware features that haven't been in a BlackBerry before. A BlackBerry patent on a finger print reader was later shared by Habkirk, reported arstechnica.
"The fact that we came out with a high-end phone [as our first Android device] was probably not as wise as it should have been," Chen reportedly said. "A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, 'I want to buy your phone but $700 is a little too steep for me. I'm more interested in a $400 device.'"
As for their own operating system, the BB10, Chen said the company has no plans to develop handsets running the system but will continue to release updates for existing users. PC mag also reported that Chen said if the company does not start making profit on its mobile devices soon, it may exit the handset business altogether and focus more on its software services. Blackberry has a lot riding on the success of its Android devices, as its sales fell $200M in three months to the end of February.
Chen said that since he started in the company in 2013 he promised to make the handset business profitable but if he can't because the market won't allow him then he has no choice but to get out. While he loves the business, he said the Blackberry company needs to make money.
