BlackBerry Q5 – Can BlackBerry Bring Back Its Past Glory?

BlackBerry is fighting its way back up to the top, and they want everyone to know it. Their flurry of announcements on May 14th made it very clear that they want to be back in the game. They’re releasing the Blackberry Q5, a more affordable mobile device. They’ve opened up their BlackBerry Messenger app to other platforms, including Android and iOS. They’ve hit a record 120,000 apps available in their app store, BlackBerry World. All of these are great moves for a company that wants to reclaim the glory and renown they once enjoyed.

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New Leadership

Last year, Thorsten Heins had just taken the reins as BlackBerry CEO, and things looked grim for the company’s future. It was losing money for the first time in years. Sales were dropping, its market share was vanishing, and it hadn’t revealed new products in a very long time. Nobody was expecting the company to work so hard to rebrand themselves and overhaul the system, but a year later, it seems to have paid off.

The last few months have been a flurry of the company working to improve its product portfolio and redeem its reputation. Heins’ appearance at this year’s conference made it clear that he felt good about the way things were going. He exuded confidence and spoke certainly about the direction the company was headed. Shareholders are not quite as convinced as Heins just yet, but the announcements of BlackBerry’s newest products should help to reassure them that the company is taking a step toward building themselves back up.

Iconic QWERTY Keyboard

The BlackBerry Q5 may be the key here to the company winning back its audience. Previously, they only offered high-end phones, while manufacturers like Samsung and HTC branched out to cover multiple markets. BlackBerry decided to give it a try, taking its BlackBerry 10 smartphone and creating a budget-friendly version. This allows them to target different markets and widen their range. BlackBerry smartphones are still the dominant choice for those who prefer smartphones with full keyboards, but even with that niche market, they haven’t been able to measure up to their competitors.

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Lower Price

There hasn’t been an announcement yet on how much the Q5 will actually cost, as that will probably vary from country to country and carrier to carrier. With BlackBerry aiming for markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia, IDC analyst Ramon Llamas says their best bet is to give it a no-contract price of around $200.

World Wide Market

The phone launches in various markets this summer, but those markets currently do not include the United States or Canada. Given the fact that the Q10 still isn’t available in the U.S. and won’t be until June, the BlackBerry may be losing its North American audience as it gains users around the world. It may be that the practical functionality of the BlackBerry simply is no longer what United States consumers want. They may very well be right to focus on other markets first and leave the North American customers behind for the time being.

Only time will tell whether these new marketing tactics pay off for the BlackBerry. if they do, we’ll just have to wait until next year’s conference to see where the company goes next.

This blog is written by Jason Fields of Bestincellphones.com, where you can find great mobile phone deals with new rate plans.