 "BBM the saving grace in BlackBerry's revenue freefall"){kind=logo}
Q3 was not a very happy time for the already struggling BlackBerry. The once iconic smartphone maker saw a revenue drop from $1.6 billion in the previous quarter to $1.2 billion in Q3. Worse was the fall in shipments from 3.7 million smartphones in Q2 to only 1.9 million this quarter, and most seemed to be older, legacy BlackBerry 7 devices.
Its adjusted loss from continuing operations was $354 million.
[caption id=“attachment_1299455” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption]
New CEO John Chen however still sees opportunity to turn things around. “With the operational and organisational changes we have announced, BlackBerry has established a clear road map that will allow it to target a return to improved financial performance in the coming year,” he said in a release today.
Of the said operational and organisational changes, the most significant ones is that the company has begun its transition to operating unit structure, viz. Enterprise Services, Messaging, QNX Embedded business and the Devices business. The new organisational structure will drive greater focus on services and software, while establishing a more efficient business model for the devices business. A new five-year deal with Foxconn, for instance, will let it focus on design and software while Foxconn will build handsets in Indonesia and Mexico primarily to tap the budget consumer devices market in emerging regions by early 2014.
Along with this BBM surely remains the trump card for BlackBerry, especially after it went cross-platform. Touted to be the most secure mobile messaging service for use even in regulated enterprises, the numbers there look very promising. Over 40 million new iOS/Android users were registered in the last 60 days and more than a dozen Android OEMs will be preloading BBM. Recently launched BBM Channels has also seen acceptance with over 250,000 BBM Channels created by global user base since the launch, that include channels by brands such Coke Indonesia and USA today. Firstpost also has a BBM Channel which can accessed at C002E13E7.
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