Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) has been celebrating some recent news as it prepares to launch its Z10 handset and new BlackBerry 10 operating system on U.S. store shelves March 22. Recently the company secured a major contract for its new handset with the German government, then a couple days later announced an order of 1 million smartphones from a single customer – though that customer has not been officially revealed.
However, with less than 48 hours before the BB10 launch on U.S. shores, Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY0 has encountered some headwinds in its pursuit of becoming a vital tool in the government enterprise. Across the pond from each other are two news items – one that says that the U.K. government has rejected the new BlackBerry due to security concerns, and the U.S. government is reportedly retiring its old BlackBerry devices and not replacing them with new ones – yet.
In the U.K., Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) has been prevalent in the governmetn, with its old OS passing security tests to where the smartphones culd be used at security levels up to “Restricted,” two levesl below “Secret.” Those devices, the company said, were the most secure mobile devices due to the security level achievement. This time around, however, the U.K. government unit that tests security of devices, made the finding that BlackBerry 10 does not meet muster for any security level.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ:BBRY) said in a statement that it blames its result on a re-configured approval process that shortened the timeline for BB10 to be deemed secure. The company referred to Germany and the U.S. as examples of the new OS meeting the security needs of government entities, and it maintained confidence that it will receive approval upon re-application.
Here in the States, Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) is claimed as a victim of the sequester. The Department of Defense reported that it will retire its 650,000 BlackBerry devices this year and will replace them with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices. In a statement, the DoD said, “Testing of the new (BB10) operating system has been gravely impacted by the sequester, and the outright elimination of funds earmarked for the BlackBerry 10 platform may never be restored.”
What are you thoughts on these news items as Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) BB10 nears its U.S. launch date? Are you in the market for a new smartphone, and will you consider the new BB10? We’d appreciate your feedback in the comments section below.
DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.
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