BlackBerry's Big Plan: A $600 Phone

Let's talk about the BlackBerry Passport. Today it's been revealed by BlackBerry that it'll cost a cool $599 USD off-contract. It's basically the size and shape of a paper passport and has a physical keyboard, and it's BlackBerry's next big plan for sales and recovery. Let's talk about why that's wrong.

The BlackBerry Passport is a device that will appeal to hardcore BlackBerry fans looking for something new and unique. For them, the cost of the device matters very little.

For everyone else, there's the idea that the BlackBerry Passport will look like a more appealing device than the iPhone 6, the HTC One M8, the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Galaxy Note 3 or 4, the LG G3, or any number of Sony devices.

Here are the prices of the BlackBerry Passport and its competitors on the market today or very soon off-contract:

BlackBerry Passport: $599iPhone 6: $649iPhone 6 Plus: $749HTC One M8: $537.60Samsung Galaxy S5: $599Galaxy Note 3: $599Galaxy Note 4: $825LG G3: $598.80

The pricing was shared by the CEO of BlackBerry exclusively with Wall Street Journal to generate hype. This is the smart part of John Chen's strategy.

It's also the only way BlackBerry will stay in the headlines. Strange moves, exclusives, and a smartphone that's as close to free as possible.