BlackBerry COO Marty Beard today released a statement via the BlackBerry blogs, in an attempt to clarify the company position on a number of areas including device strategy and their commitment to their own BlackBerry 10 (BB10) OS.
Beard said that after recent ‘misinterpretation’ surrounding the company’s stance, they want to reassure BlackBerry users that their own proprietary BB10 OS will still be supported by the company.
“We are committed to not just maintaining BB10 software, but advancing it to be even more secure and provide even greater productivity. You’ll see that with the next 10.3.3 update coming within the next month.â€Â
The BB10 OS update has been gradually pushed back several times, while reports of a late June release turned out to be false. The update isn’t expected to include any huge changes for the platform but will carry NIAP certification, meaning it’s passed the strictest government-grade security tests. Bringing NIAP certification to BB10 is obviously a good thing but once again BlackBerry are seen as playing catchup as Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and Boeing have had NIAP certification for a while.
Beard also said that the company was committed to further updates in the future, with updates for 2017 “already in the worksâ€Â.
Touching on BlackBerry’s recent (and upcoming) move to producing Android smartphones, Beard states that BlackBerry do not want to be nothing more than just another Android manufacturer but improve Android.
“We wanted to merge the best of BlackBerry with Android – the notion of a new merged BlackBerry platform meant we would provide the security and connectivity BlackBerry is known for, with the content available in the Android ecosystem – all in one environment.”
Further to the operating system itself, Beard again stressed that physical keyboards were a big part of the BlackBerry future. The company promised continued support for the feature, stating that customers wanted the feature to remain a key part of current and future devices.
“We’ll continue to make our iconic BlackBerry keyboard. We have four physical keyboard options that we currently offer: Passport, Passport Silver Edition, Classic and PRIV. There is solid demand for physical keyboards – and as long as that’s the case, we’ll continue to make them.â€Â
In terms of device strategy, Beard made comment on the future of the company. Focusing mainly on the internet of things (IoT) and security, he reiterates that the company strategy is about much more than mere hardware.
“At BlackBerry, we’re not looking to fit into the industry standard mold. That’s because mobility has evolved beyond just smartphones and tablets. Besides our burgeoning enterprise software business, the new Mobility Solutions division has defined a strategy enabling us to agilely pursue opportunities in this new security-focused era.”
The problem here is that BlackBerry has become adept at making announcements and literally saying nothing new – and Beard repeats that methodology here.  BlackBerry have stated repeatedly that they will continue support for BB10 with two security-focused updates coming. Beard’s statement today adds nothing new to what has already been said many times by the company.
Apart from some of BlackBerry’s hardcore fans, today’s statement does not bring any further clarity to the future of BB10 as an OS, or indeed BlackBerry producing another BB10 smartphone.  Recently, the company stated that they haven’t ruled out another BB10 smartphone but that doesn’t mean there will be one, or indeed that they have committed to producing another one.
BlackBerry will continue to have a hard time convincing the enterprise and corporate segements, never mind the mainstream media, that BlackBerry has a future in smartphones, until they come out and say something definite.  Companies who have stuck with BlackBerry deserve that, and so do BlackBerry fans.
