BlackBerry bowing out of the hardware space might be the best thing the company could do for itself, suggests an industry analyst.
Regardless of the seeming popularity of BlackBerry's latest flagship, the Android-powered Priv, the company remained silent during MWC last month when the rest of its competitors were showing off their latest products.
By now, many have expected to hear more about BlackBerry's next device, codenamed "Vienna," which is supposed to be another Android-powered handset targeting the lower-end market.
The last anyone heard about "Vienna" was in January, when BlackBerry CEO John Chen said that the more affordable QWERTY-equipped device would launch later in the year. So, for the time being, there seems to be no BlackBerry 10 device in the pipeline for the foreseeable future.
That's what TD Securities analyst Daniel Chan is trying to read — BlackBerry's future. Unfortunately, that future isn't looking too bright.
The Canadian company's performance in both the stock market and the hardware space has slumped to lower and lower levels every year. However, Chan does see hope for BlackBerry, but it requires the company letting go of its once-popular past.
Chan is predicting that, by focusing on its enterprise software strengths — and ceasing its hardware operations — BlackBerry would at least have a chance at staying in the game.
However, BlackBerry's consumer-facing software is losing, too. Facebook has announced that it will no longer support its app running on BB10. Also, since Facebook now owns WhatsApp, the popular messaging app will also be disappearing from BB10 devices as well.
"Not only are there no BB10 devices in the pipeline, but also the loss of two of the most popular mobile apps across all platforms could lead to the end of life of BB10," Chan comments.
Year over year, BlackBerry's revenues continue to drop. Exiting the hardware business, however, could help the company shave off as much as 30 to 50 percent of spending in R&D. As a result, BlackBerry would then have a positive balance of $1.4 billion with a 33 percent operating margin.
A clearer picture of BlackBerry's business will be more apparent when the company posts its fourth-quarter results this coming Friday, April 1.
