BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins has expressed satisfaction over the reception the company’s new Z10 smartphone has received from the U.K. and Canada market and although he did not mention the number of phones sold, he maintained that the response was very positive.
In a recent media briefing, Heins shared his journey with the company and the ups and downs it faced in launching the new model of the company’s signature product. He also shared BlackBerry’s plans and said that the smartphone would have even more apps by March this year. Traditionally, BlackBerry has not been a big fan of apps, but the competition in the smartphone market made it introduce apps, and at the time of its launch, Z10 already had around 70,000 apps. According to Heins, BlackBerry will have around 100,000 apps by March. Talking about response from the U.K. and Canada market, and the apps to be introduced, Heins said, via Livemint:
“I cannot give numbers since we are in the silent period. But I can say that the launch was very successful and better than expected. We have a whole new platform. Two years back we had nothing but 18 months later, we have 70,000 apps. In March, we will have more than 100,000 apps. We know that the numbers are low compared to our competitors (Apple Inc. and Google Inc.) but around 50% of the Android apps have only been downloaded once. We are aiming at our specific audience. Internally, we call them the BlackBerry people. Our 80 million subscribers want us to be successful. I need to serve them and that’s why we designed BB10.”
The BlackBerry chief also pointed out the emerging markets and the room for the company to grow in them. When asked about the Indian market, Heins said:
“India is one of our very important growth markets. India is not only about cheap phones. It is also one of the leading software development countries. And it does not have too much of a legacy of wireline phones. As emerging markets move to 4G (fourth generation wireless technology), the BB10 platform will provide a means to do business.”
There have been different reports with respect to the new BlackBerry’s performance in the market; some are very supportive, and others are a bit moderate. The phone is yet to hit the U.S. markets, where it is expected to do some solid business. The company, meanwhile, stays optimistic for a bright future.
Photo: Reuters
Privacy Issues Once Again in the Limelight as Google Shares Data
Rumours: BlackBerry To Withdraw From South Korean Market
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence