Despite lower-than-expected Q1 calendar handset sales, Canada’s BlackBerry is continuing its headlong dive into the smartphone market like a dog at a proverbial bone.
Blackberry sold 600,000 devices during the period, missing Wall Street targets and failing to convince analysts that it will reach its goal of three million handset sales in 2016.
The Canadian company says it will focus on the mid-range market with two new Android-powered handsets due out this year.
The Blackberry Venice will feature a physical keyboard while the other model – name not yet known –will be a full touchscreen device. Both will be powered by Android software, Blackberry says.
The smartphones are expected to retail at around US$400 in a bid to attract large orders from the corporate sector., where iPhones in many cases remain the gadget de jour with executives.
