Uncertain future for BlackBerry as new BlackBerry 10 fails to sizzle

BlackBerry has been keeping people guessing over the its subscriber numbers and coupled with the fact of shipment of about 2.7 million BlackBerry 10 devices over the past three months, analysts have pointed out it did not augur well for the company.

The shipment  included the Q10 model with the physical QWERTY-keyboard that the company hoped would score with loyalists.

According to the official release which announced an unexpected first-quarter loss for the Canadian company, the "smartphone market remains highly competitive, making it difficult to estimate units, revenue and levels of profitability."

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins reminded investors that the company was "still in the early stages" of the BlackBerry 10 launch, and "over the next three quarters, we will be increasing our investments to support the roll out of new products and services, and to demonstrate that BlackBerry has established itself as a leading and vibrant player in next generation mobile computing solutions for both consumer and enterprise customers."

UAS Today quoted tech analyst Jeff Kagan as saying, "I can't imagine anyone is happy with Blackberry performance except maybe Blackberry competitors. Can Blackberry turn things around with their new Q10, the keyboard device that just launched? Hopefully yes, but to tell you the truth hopes are dimmed by this first quarter performance."

Kagan went on to say that next quarter could the the "deciding quarter" for the company.

The company's shares have also taken a beating with stock down nearly 28 per cent.

Heins, said yesterday recalling that when he announced a delay in the introduction of a new line of phones a year ago, he had been told his company was "finished." He argued then, his company needed time to get things right.

The BlackBerry 10s which he was referring to, had failed to turn around its fortunes.

In the first full quarter of sales of the make-or-break BlackBerry 10s, BlackBerry reported that it shipped 6.8 million phones, with only 2.7 million of these the new models.

To look at it another way, Apple sold as many iPhones over a week as BlackBerry 10s were shipped over three months. 

Meanwhile, replying to queries during a conference call with investors regarding BlackBerry 10's reception by customers, Heins said the company was only five months in.

He also pointed out that not all BlackBerry 10 models were available in all markets during the quarter and a version with a physical keyboard, the Q10, went on sale in the US this month.

Heins also noted the company had planned to grow its software business and said, "There's more to come, more exciting products to come."