BlackBerry was a company that was synonymous with class and elegance in the years past. This was thanks mainly to its enterprise solutions, which was the preferred choice of business executives and top level government employees until very recently.
However, that trend has changed significantly over the past years with the advent of Android and of course the Apple iPhones. BlackBerry planned to give its mobile business a shot in the arm with the new BlackBerry OS 10 which introduced some interesting features, but even that wasn't good enough to convince Android or iPhone owners to switch over.If newer reports are to be believed, BlackBerry is finally giving in to the pressure and will launch an Android smartphone over the coming weeks, known as the 'Venice'. For those familiar, this basically looks like an Android version of the BlackBerry Passport from last year, which was an expensive slider that barely made any noise in the mobile industry.
Now if BlackBerry goes on to launch a smartphone like this, the market will be in for a major surprise, no doubt. But will the smartphone manage to win over Android, or even iPhone fans?
There's nothing wrong with the slider form factor, in fact, there are some accessories out there that let you attach a BlackBerry'esque keyboard on your touchscreen smartphone. So there is certainly some demand for physical keyboards out there.
However, considering the slightly odd form factor and the sheer number of competitive flagships available in the market today, we're afraid the future looks very bleak for the BlackBerry Venice. The company surely has the willingness to change, which is a very good sign, but I personally think it's a little too late.
A move like this might have made sense a couple of years ago when BlackBerry was still developing BB OS 10. But now with devices like the OnePlus 2, the Samsung Galaxy Note5, the LG G4 and not to mention the upcoming iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus, BlackBerry will have a tough job of convincing the customers of the handset's potential.
As always, pricing will always be a crucial factor in the success or failure of a device, so we will wait for the company to officially offer word on that before declaring this a dud.
Of course, this is based on the assumption that the handset is indeed real and we must remember that there's every likelihood that the company might not release the Venice at all.
Do you think the BlackBerry Venice will be a success in the market? Please let us know through the comments below
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