BlackBerry, which had to struggle against aggressive competition over a year ago, is now refocussing itself by targeting the professional consumer. In the last few months, the Ontario-based technology major has been releasing new products and features with the aim of reclaiming the lost ground.
BYOD culture
With the BYOD (bring your own device) culture having firmly settled in, today the consumer and the enterprise were meshed, said Annie Mathew, Director, Alliances and Business Development, BlackBerry, India.
“We are looking at ‘power professionals. We are refocussing on our strengths and utilising them to deliver in areas we are strong. That’s what we have done in the past year,” she added.
Last month, BlackBerry launched BBM Meetings, a multi-OS, mobile-first voice and video-conferencing solution that makes it simpler for professionals to join meetings on the go. It’s easy to turn any BBM chat or a voice call into a live BBM Meeting with the touch of a button. You know it’s time to join a meeting when the phone rings, and all you have to do to join, is answer the call. No need of conference IDs, pass codes and PINs.
“Devices are no longer just about running apps or enabling email. It is about if you can set up a meeting in two-touch action. Or, if I am late for a meeting, can I inform everyone that I will be late by 10 minutes with one touch?” said Ms. Mathew.
Android Apps
The dearth of consumer-friendly apps on a BB device has been resolved with the integration of Amazon App Store on the recently launched Passport running the 10.3 update.
“You can download an Android app and run it on the BlackBerry device. Now, there are two app stores for you: BB World where you will find all productivity apps, and the Amazon Store for all consumer-related apps,” she said.
With the acquisition of Movirtu, a provider of virtual identity solutions, in September, the latest devices support as many as four Virtual SIMs. “It’s available now in the Middle East. We are working with the carriers here. BB clearly demarcates your personal SIM space and the other SIM space. And for women, this has huge implications from the security angle,” she said.
BlackBerry also supports the HotRemit app that allows transfer of money via BBM, Facebook or SMS. The user has to download BBM and HotRemit and link it to the bank account. “Neither the sender nor the receiver gets to know the other person’s account information. They know only each other’s BBM Pin,” said Ms. Mathew. Work is under way for a Merchant app that will enable businessmen to send invoices and receive payments via BBM.