Last week BlackBerry, the company best known for its instant messaging application BBM, announced that they will be dramatically downsizing.
Due to much lower-than-expected sales of their BlackBerry Z10, the company is anticipating a loss close to $1 billion for their second quarter. The Z10 did not even sell 3 million of the 6.8 million that were produced.
In a struggle to save BlackBerry from completely tanking, the Canadian company will now have to begin laying off 4,500 employees which amounts to 40% of their overall workforce. Also, rumors began to develop at the beginning of summer that the company may be sold. Many may already be flocking to scoop up BlackBerry’s treasure chest of patents.
Speculation that Samsung, Lenovo and Amazon are all frontrunners has arisen over the last few months. Microsoft had previously expressed interest but since they have recently acquired Nokia, it is doubtful that they will be buying another.
Berry vs. Apple
What may have been the company’s final attempt at making a smartphone that truly sells, was overshadowed by Apple launching two of its own new devices. The Z30 is said to be a good smartphone, but as of yet, its sales have not proved it.
Apple sold 37.4 million devices in their second quarter trumping BlackBerry’s 5.9 million devices.
In addition to the losses suffered due to low sales, the company had a hefty bill of $72 million for restructuring.
In 2008 BlackBerry shares would trade for over $138 but this past Friday after the company’s CEO Thorstein Heins made his announcement, shares closed at $8.72.
BBM
BlackBerry Messenger has been many user’s first instant messaging application and because of that it will always have a place in our hearts. When news came out that it would soon become available for iOS and Android, the anticipation was palpable.
BlackBerry may have had difficulty raising interest for its new line of devices, however many were checking the App Store and Google Play hourly awaiting the arrival of BBM.
Unfortunately however, it would seem that the App has taken a little stumble on its way to our devices and has been delayed for an unspecified amount of time.
The application was said to be released on the 21st and 22nd of September for Android and iOS respectively, but the company’s blog Inside Blackberry announced that due to a leak of an unofficial version of the app on Google Play, it will have to be taken down and ongoing downloads will have to be halted.
They also mentioned that individuals who have already downloaded this unofficial version will not be able to continue doing so, but those who downloaded it from the App Store can continue using it. This has been disappointing news for many around the globe and may be the final nail in BlackBerry’s coffin.
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