Editor’s Note: Related tickers: BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)
Canada’s Worried About BlackBerry, and It Should Be (AllThingsD)
Watching a pioneering company like BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) founder after a long history of success and innovation isn’t easy. Not for its leadership and employees. Not for its shareholders and loyalists. And not for Canada, whose government has in the past described BlackBerry as the country’s “crown jewel” and one of its great entrepreneurial success stories. Indeed, the Canadian government is watching BlackBerry’s sad diminution with increasing unease. In an interview with Reuters, James Moore, Canada’s Minister of Industry, said he’s “keeping a close eye” on the smartphone maker.
BlackBerry’s Strong Patent Portfolio Might Help Recharge Profitability (BlackberryRocks)
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) at present appears to be slightly at a crossroad, and the entire investment community is watching out for further developments with keen interest. Profitability is not at its best and the Board has recently publicly declared that they are considering strategic alternatives to enhance scale. There’s a question all around whether Blackberry is gearing up for a takeover. Since BlackBerry is considered to be the pioneer of smartphones, it’s natural that it has amassed a large number of patents.
BlackBerry slashes phone production in half after putting itself up for sale (Computing)
Production of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) smartphone devices has been cut in half after the company’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, effectively put the company up for sale. Heins, who under his contract of employment stands to earn more than $50m if the company is sold, announced that the company was “exploring strategic alternatives” on 12 August – just 10 days ago. While those strategic alternatives could include a plan to take the company private, the announcement was widely interpreted that the company was effectively giving up, and putting itself up for sale.
One developer makes over 47,000 of BlackBerry 10’s 120,000 apps (Wired)
We already know that things aren’t looking great for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) — despite launching a new operating system and a few reasonably attractive flagship phones in the last year, the company recently announced that it was seeking buyers to help reverse its decline. BlackBerry 10’s app store offers one explanation for why the operating system isn’t setting the world on fire: BerryReview reports that of the 120,000 apps in BlackBerry World, over 47,000 of them come from a single developer, and as you might be able to guess, the quality of those apps isn’t exactly up to snuff.
