FollowAs we are already aware, BlackBerry is in the process of launching one of its star features, the BlackBerry Messenger on both Android and iOS. Analysts claim it is a tactical move on part of the Canadian company which will ensure they eventually earn more money than it would have been possible had the instant messaging service remained confined to only BlackBerry smartphones. However, there is another side to the story as well as there are chances of such a move backfiring. This since this could have an adverse impact on the prospects of the company’s own smartphone lineup.
The way this could unfold is that consumers might be less inclined to migrate to the BlackBerry platform if one of the biggest attractions of BlackBerry devices, the BBM instant messaging service is available on both Android and iOS itself, both of which make up the biggest user base of the smartphone segment. BlackBerrt currently offers the full touch enabled Z10 and the QWERTY based Q10 smartphone though it is the latter that has proved to be more successful. However, with a general tendency among high end smartphone makers to launch affordably priced versions of their high end smartphone offerings, BlackBerry too had launched the Q5. The latter features a QWERTY keypad and is aimed primarily at the developing markets, priced as it is at a more affordable $400 to $450 in its unlocked state.
However, with the Q5 among the cheapest of all BlackBerry handsets, one that is aimed at the mass market, it is also the Q5 that runs the biggest risk of being duped by the consumers if they can have the BBM service on competing devices running on Android or iOS. While the device will continue to hold its appeal among BB loyalists, the smartphone could lose out on those wishing to migrate from either the Android and iOS platform.
