TORONTO: Those few BlackBerry lovers left could be in for some bad news.
The device that was so addictive that it was dubbed the "CrackBerry" might not have much of a future: Its new chairman and interim chief executive says he wants to emphasize software and services - not devices. That could mean the company might ultimately get out of the business of selling smartphones.
The possible change in strategy comes as Fairfax Financial, BlackBerry's largest shareholder with a 10% stake, said Monday it won't buy the struggling smartphone company and take it private. It said that instead Fairfax and other investors will inject $1 billion as part of a revised investment proposal.
CEO Thorsten Heins is stepping down and John Chen was appointed chairman of BlackBerry's board of directors and interim CEO. Chen, the former CEO of software data company Sybase, said that BlackBerry employees need to start thinking differently about the company and accept that "we're really not in phones but we're in phones for software, for services.''
Chen said he wants to find a CEO with a strong software and services background.
He noted that BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry's popular messaging application, has been downloaded by more 20 million users since it became available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms last month. BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, works like text messaging but doesn't incur extra fees.
BlackBerry eyes software business, may abandon hardware - Times Of India
