BlackBerry on Friday confirmed it will launch an Android smartphone in a bid to reverse the ongoing decline in handset shipments, which fell to less than a million units during its fiscal second quarter.
"I’m confirming today a much-leaked rumour," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen, on his company’s quarterly investor call.
The device is called ‘Priv’, which is derived from the words ‘privacy’ and ‘privilege’. It will run on Android but include BlackBerry’s security, privacy and productivity software. It will feature a curved touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard.
"This phone is the answer for former BlackBerry users who miss the physical keyboard, but also need apps," said Chen, adding that "we’re bringing the BlackBerry security knowhow into the Android ecosystem."
He did not disclose the price, but said the Priv will launch before the end of this year, and that BlackBerry is "working with all the major carriers."
Chen insisted that BlackBerry will continue to support its in-house operating system, BB10, which is due to be updated next March. He said BB10 still has a very loyal customer base, "especially governments and highly-regulated industries."
However, he did not rule out adopting Android instead of BB10 if the Priv is well received. BlackBerry also has no plans to release a new BB10 device this calendar year.
Chen will hope the Priv proves successful given the worrying slump in BlackBerry device shipme nts during its fiscal second quarter.
In the three months to 29 August, the company recognised hardware revenue on 800,000 smartphones, down from 2.4 million a year earlier, and 1.1 million in the previous quarter.
"I’m not satisfied overall…particularly with respect to the handset business," Chen said.
BlackBerry generated revenue of $491 million in Q2, down from $916 million a year earlier. Software and services – the side of the business on which Chen has pinned BlackBerry’s long-term future – grew revenue to $74 million, up 19% year-on-year.
BlackBerry reported an adjusted net loss of $66 million, compared to a year-earlier adjusted loss of $11 million.
