Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): It’s the Q10, Stupid

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Furthermore, corporate customers — who make up a large part of the remaining BlackBerry customer base — often go through a multi-month testing phase before rolling out new devices. These corporate rollouts may begin in the current quarter, but they are not likely to gain steam until the fall.

Too early to call
Apple’s iPhone clearly still rules the U.S. market. Last quarter, iPhones represented more than half of all smartphone activations at Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) for the third straight quarter, and Verizon has historically been more supportive of Android than AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Meanwhile, Android rules most of the rest of the world.

BlackBerry’s bet for survival is to maintain control of its niche: smartphones with physical keyboards. This strategy offers a higher chance of success than attempting to compete directly with Apple and Android vendors on their own turf, as BlackBerry did with the Z10.

Investors and pundits should give Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) until the end of the year before writing off the whole company. Q10 sales to individuals have only just begun, and big corporate rollouts are not likely to begin until later in 2013. The Z10 may have just flopped, but ultimately, that’s not the key to BlackBerry’s future. It’s the Q10, stupid!

The article BlackBerry: It’s the Q10, Stupid originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Adam Levine-Weinberg.

Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Apple and BlackBerry. Adam Levine-Weinberg is also long January 2015 $390 calls on Apple and long January 2014 $13 calls on BlackBerry. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple.

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