In a move that is equal parts admirable and bleak (but mostly bleak), BlackBerry has chosen to valiantly fight the imminent march of time. Instead of trying to build the next Big Thing, the company is going back to what it knows works best: 2011. Say hello to the Bold. Again.
After continued losses this quarter, BlackBerry is apparently banking on nostalgia to win back fans. The reintroduced Bold will be hitting the market totally unchanged. Blackberry 7, full keyboard, shitty browser — the whole gang’s back.
The difference here (at least for Blackberry) is that the updated production techniques mean it should be able to sell the phone at a profit, a word that’s all but vanished from the company’s vocabulary. BlackBerry CEO John Chen seems confident, at least, saying:
Our customers still love the BB OS device, particularly BB7 devices. We’ll continue to make these devices available and support the operating system as long as there is customer demand.
In the company’s defence, it did also say that it will be introducing “high-end phones with keyboards” over the next 18 months. If that will be enough to keep all dozens of their users loyal, though, remains to be seen. Judging from the past few years, it ain’t going to be pretty. And will probably look a little something like this. [The Verge]