Give the people what they want? The BlackBerry Classic. Courtesy of BlackBerry
“Someone stole my BlackBerry yesterday. It has since been returned.” … “What did the iPhone say to the BlackBerry? iWork.”
Admit it. You’ve made fun of a BlackBerry user before. It might’ve been a smug smile to a fellow subway passenger or a covered smirk at your uncle. The uncle whose BlackBerry is from corporate and goes well with his trusty IBM ThinkPad, also from corporate. You know the one.
The issue for BlackBerry is that even your uncle doesn’t have one anymore. Such is the current enterprise landscape for mobile, with an ever-increasing amount of corporations and government agencies dropping the troubled mobile company in favor of iPhones and Androids. While BlackBerry’s attempt to compete with the likes of the iPhone and Android for the consumer market has been undeniably ill-fated, its true consequence has been the loss of its enterprise clients, a base that was more profitable for the company then its consumer segment. Enter Monday’s launch of the BlackBerry Classic.
The Classic is a reverting of sorts back to the iconic phones of old. The trademark keyboard, the navigational buttons above it, the thumb-controlled trackpad- it’s all back, while keeping the advancements of the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system. It is an appeal to BlackBerry’s faithful, the ones who appreciate and miss a familiar face. “It was inspired by you, our loyal BlackBerry customers,” said Jeff Gadway, director of product marketing. “I’m not going to stand here blind to the fact that we’ve lost some of you. But with the BlackBerry Classic, we’re going to win you back.”
Now, I’m not entirely convinced that the Classic’s conception was truly a calculated business decision and not just the result of a (understandably) drunken night out with Gadway and Chief Exec John Chen reminiscing back to a happier time. I imagine it went something like this:
Gadway: Remember 2009? When we had the Bold and the Curve and 47% market share?
Chen: Yeah. Man…those were the days.
Gadway: Ugh. I wish we could go back to that.
Chen: Huh…why can’t we?
Strategic move or hopeless nostalgia aside, the Classic, to be offered with multiple enterprise and security bundles, is BlackBerry returning to the prioritization of business users with perhaps some hardcore Bold-fans sprinkled in. One thing is certain: BlackBerry is going back. Whether this is progress or regress, only time will tell. Give it a little, check in with your uncle, and let me know.
Amit Kumar is a content editor and marketer for Fueled.
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