{"id":2975,"date":"2016-04-13T07:50:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-13T06:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2975"},"modified":"2016-04-11T20:19:10","modified_gmt":"2016-04-11T19:19:10","slug":"blackberry-to-launch-two-mid-range-android-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/blackberry-to-launch-two-mid-range-android-phones\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackberry to launch two mid-range Android phones"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news comes just a few months after the ailing tech giant go back in the smartphone game by launching its first Android handset, the Priv<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And it looks like Blackberry has all but given up on its own BB10 operating system, while it will still be providing updates for existing\u00a0devices, new ones will all be Android enabled.<\/p>\n

So what are these new handsets all about?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The price is right<\/h2>\n

It’s safe to say the\u00a0Priv wasn’t quite the silver bullet the company needed as company sales dropped by almost $200 million in the three months to the end of February – and John Chen, the company’s chief executive, believes this is because the handset is too expensive.<\/p>\n

He said: “The fact that we came out with a high-end phone was probably not as wise as it should have been”<\/p>\n

Adding:\u00a0“A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, ‘I want to buy your phone, but $700 [\u00a3491] is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'”<\/p>\n

Is it all a matter of price though?<\/p>\n

What’s app-ening?<\/h2>\n

Although Mr Chen has laid the blame of Blackberry’s less-than-impressive\u00a0results squarely on\u00a0the pricing of the Priv, he has previously blamed poor sales figures on delayed negotiations with mobile networks.<\/p>\n

And Facebook has recently delivered another body blow to the tech brand\u00a0by announcing its Whatsapp messaging service won’t be supporting Blackberry apps.<\/p>\n

If any other popular applications disappear from the menu it could spell real trouble for Blackberry, even if it sold its handsets for next to nothing.<\/p>\n

That said though, offering mid-range handsets is a good place to start if it wants to get the business users back from Apple and claw back some of its market share.<\/p>\n

No details of the new models have been released as yet, we’ll keep you posted…<\/p>\n