{"id":35721,"date":"2014-12-18T00:27:58","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T16:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=35721"},"modified":"2014-12-18T00:27:58","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T16:27:58","slug":"blackberry-recalls-its-crackberry-days-in-hopes-customers-will-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/12\/18\/blackberry-recalls-its-crackberry-days-in-hopes-customers-will-respond\/","title":{"rendered":"BlackBerry recalls its ‘CrackBerry’ days in hopes customers will respond"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Blackberry<\/a>
Blackberry Q10 (Wikipedia photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BlackBerry is reaching back to its CrackBerry heyday in hopes of winning back customers who once were among the smartphone company’s most loyal users.<\/p>\n

The curtain lifts on the BlackBerry Classic this morning at an event in New York City for the media, analysts and some customers.<\/p>\n

Chief executive John Chen will deliver a keynote speech about the device at 10 a.m. ET, followed by presentations from some corporate partners.<\/p>\n

The Classic is designed to look and work like an updated version of the Bold 9900, which became the company’s best-selling device when it was released in 2011.<\/p>\n

Since Chen joined the company a year ago, he has focused on improving the finances of BlackBerry and rescuing its reputation with business customers.<\/p>\n

Among other things, he has been a staunch supporter of resurrecting a phone for clients who said they wanted devices that weren’t so dramatically different from past BlackBerrys.<\/p>\n

BlackBerry has tried to move beyond those older models with the launch of a new operating system and the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 devices.<\/p>\n

However, the company has seen its market share decline at a rapid pace as longtime customers switched to Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy and other devices in escalating numbers.<\/p>\n

Returning to the Classic model are some familiar features of older BlackBerrys including a “belt” of physical keys placed below the screen that included menu buttons and a small track pad.<\/p>\n

What’s different from the older phones is a larger screen and improved battery life.<\/p>\n

Chen said he sees potential for the Classic to catch on with smartphone users who haven’t warmed to the growing number of touchscreen phones.<\/p>\n

“We could capture new markets and new users with the Classic,” Chen said at a roundtable with reporters earlier this fall.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Export Development Canada announced US$850 million in financial assistance being given to European telecom giant Vodafone, with the majority of the money being allocated to BlackBerry.<\/p>\n

Under the five-year agreement, Vodafone will spend $750 million on BlackBerry’s handsets, software and support services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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