Analysts claim only 850K BlackBerry phones sold in 2017 as paid apps leave BlackBerry Worl...
A mere 850,000 BlackBerry-branded phones were shipped in all of 2017, according to estimates. Further marking the decline of the company's brand, BlackBerry World -- which hosts apps for the BB10 operating system -- will soon lose any remaining paid titles.
The shipment estimates include all BlackBerry devices, not just the recent KeyOne flagship, The Verge said citing data from IDC's Francisco Jeronimo. By comparison, Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones in the December quarter alone. BlackBerry did beat out Essential's 88,000 phones, but the latter company didn't exist for much of 2017.
Phone maker TCL bought the rights to sell BlackBerry-branded phones in 2016, meaning that BlackBerry itself has had increasingly less to do with hardware, focusing instead on software and services. Modern BlackBerries run Android, in recognition of the current platform duopoly.
BlackBerry will remove any paid apps from BlackBerry World on March 31, the company said in an email to developers. All purchasing mechanisms will be turned off, and refunds will only be supported until April 30.
Free apps will be allowed to persist, but only until BlackBerry World's complete shutdown on Dec. 31, 2019. Android-based BlackBerry devices have access to the Google Play Store.
Once synonymous with smartphones -- even earning the nickname "Crackberry" -- BlackBerry was slow to respond to the advent of the iPhone in 2007 and other touchscreen devices. When it did respond, its products weren't well-received, and the company has since slid into irrelevancy in hardware sales.
The shipment estimates include all BlackBerry devices, not just the recent KeyOne flagship, The Verge said citing data from IDC's Francisco Jeronimo. By comparison, Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones in the December quarter alone. BlackBerry did beat out Essential's 88,000 phones, but the latter company didn't exist for much of 2017.
Phone maker TCL bought the rights to sell BlackBerry-branded phones in 2016, meaning that BlackBerry itself has had increasingly less to do with hardware, focusing instead on software and services. Modern BlackBerries run Android, in recognition of the current platform duopoly.
BlackBerry will remove any paid apps from BlackBerry World on March 31, the company said in an email to developers. All purchasing mechanisms will be turned off, and refunds will only be supported until April 30.
Free apps will be allowed to persist, but only until BlackBerry World's complete shutdown on Dec. 31, 2019. Android-based BlackBerry devices have access to the Google Play Store.
Once synonymous with smartphones -- even earning the nickname "Crackberry" -- BlackBerry was slow to respond to the advent of the iPhone in 2007 and other touchscreen devices. When it did respond, its products weren't well-received, and the company has since slid into irrelevancy in hardware sales.
Comments
It's a world of hopes and a world of fears
There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all!
That many?
I guess that is due to the TCL brand who actually made those phones. They have a lot more than 850K customers worldwide.
Google Maps killed the Blackberry.
The BlackBerry was the best business phone. I could text and email with my BlackBerry without ever taking my eyes off the road.
But when Maps came along it became the killer app, and the Blackberry screen was to small.
RIP Blackberry
I’m trying to talk her into switching to an IPhone 8 (buy one get one free).
If you bought a Blackberry in the last 2 years, it was probably because you didn’t want the data charges of an IPhone or Android. Some areas still don’t have 4G. In those, a Blackberry might be a better value...
most were bought by employees, family and friends
- Horses before cars
- Morse Code before telephones
- Abacus before adding machines and later computers
- Going to the movies to see the news before broadcast TV
- Radio before Satellite Radio
- Touch screen before a keyboard that took up half the size of the phone
What killed the Blackberry was their reaction time. They laughed off Apple's design and ton of new functionality and that is not to mention there was zero cool factor with having a Blackberry. Only business people and nerds with their "Holier Than Though" attitude. Not saying that was you, but it was the vast majority of users I knew. Once Google dropped Android that was end. Maps may have been one of the nails, but don't overlook iMessage, a great email client, touch, large screen, good camera, and the way it all tied together. The most pathetic RIM-related hold out was Ryan Seacrest making (but being forced to stop) a RIM type keyboard add on for the iPhone. Motorola and Nokia joined RIM in being crushed by Apple, Samsung, LG etc.