BlackBerry Might Have A Mid-Range Android Phone In 2016

Given the largely positive reception, though not completely positive sales, of the BlackBerry Priv, a lot of attention has again been showered on the Canadian company. And a lot of questions as well. Aside from questions of whether the Priv was the savior that it had hoped it would be, there is also the question of what's next for BlackBerry. According to CEO John Chen, the company is open to the idea of making yet another Android smartphone, but if and only if the Priv does well in the market in the next few months.

Garnering positive reception, even hype, doesn't exactly equate to large sales numbers, something HTC might be able to painfully attest to. In the end, it isn't glowing five-star reviews that BlackBerry needs but financial figures. While not disclosing specific numbers, Chen seems to be cautiously optimistic about the Priv, which could hint at a successor by next year.

Chen says that the focus will be on the high end but probably leaning more towards the mid-range. The Priv definitely sits on the high end, with its high price of $700. There have already been speculations about what the next BlackBerry Android phone might look like, with leaks, or wishful thinking, hinting at a more traditional BlackBerry design, with a QWERTY keyboard instead of a slider. Inside specs, however, are still up in the air.

Of course, this also opens up a lot more questions. Like whether it is a wise business strategy to immediately dilute the BlackBerry Priv's, er, privilege, with a more affordable model. And whether BlackBerry will now fully bank on Android for its smartphones rather than its own BlackBerry OS platform.

SOURCE: Bloomberg