BlackBerry Gives Up Phone Business; Producing Software, Security Products Will Continue

BlackBerry will apparently begin outsourcing the production of BlackBerry devices to third-party manufacturers as the company struggles in the mobile market. The company, however, will not end the whole of its tech business as the company will still continue developing its own software and security products.

Chen said in a statement that "The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners," BGR reported. Smartphones that carry the BlackBerry badge will continue to be distributed to several markets around the globe, including Indonesia, China and India. However, the devices will no longer be produced by the original company that created it, Financial Times reported.

The last BlackBerry smartphone created by the company was the Priv model. It is the first Blackberry device that is powered by Android which was released in Nov. 2015. Chen revealed that BlackBerry would have to sell three million phones every year in order for the company to retain its position in the business. However, BGR reported that the company has a net loss of $372 million over a revenue of $334 million in this year's second quarter financial results.

BlackBerry's decision to end its phone manufacturing business may no longer come as a surprise to tech enthusiasts as the brand has been struggling in the smartphone market. This is evidenced by the slow change that the company has incorporated into its devices apart from the Priv model. Chief Analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said "That's the stage that BlackBerry has reached - many people aren't even aware that BlackBerry still makes phones," Wired reported. In his statement, Dawson made it clear that phone manufacturing companies without innovations and improvements might struggle in the business as consumers may soon forget that they still exist.

BlackBerry was once a highly sought smartphone for corporate uses. It held a dominant position in the mobile industry and sold millions of BlackBerry units around the globe.

See a review on the BlackBerry Priv below.