The clock is winding down on BlackBerry’s days as a mobile OS or mobile device maker. BlackBerry divulged its quarterly earnings figures today, and it’s not a pretty picture: BlackBerry the company will survive, but it’s time to throw in the towel on BlackBerry the mobile platform vendor.
Wall Street expected 7.3 million smartphone shipments. The reality was a more meager 6.8 million smartphones. Wall Street projected that BlackBerry would ship 3.3 million BlackBerry 10 devices—one bullish analyst went so far as to suggest that number would be 3.6 million. The tally for BB10 devices was a mere 2.7 million. Wall Street projected revenue of $ 3.4 billion, but BlackBerry reported a paltry $ 3.1 billion.
Do those figures assure that the end is nigh for BlackBerry as a company? Not necessarily, but this should have been BlackBerry’s biggest quarter in years. This was supposed to be its moment to shine. It was BlackBerry’s last best chance to demonstrate that after all the setbacks and delays, BlackBerry 10 was worth the wait, and that the company is back and ready to go head-to-head with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
BlackBerry didn’t even meet conservative Wall Street expectations, in a quarter that included the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10. This is the pinnacle. Demand for BlackBerry devices will never be any higher, and the fight for market share will not get any easier. So, yes—the future looks very bleak for BlackBerry as a mobile platform.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here