BlackBerry CEO: Priv sales have been ‘quite positive’ so far

By Jason Hahn December 20, 2015

blackberry ceo priv sales quite positive far — Image used with permission by copyright holder

BlackBerry is alive and kicking, as the Canadian mobile technology business reported a nearly 12 percent bump in revenue in its latest quarter. As for BlackBerry Priv sales, the company’s CEO said the results are good so far, though he didn’t offer any specifics.

In the three months ending November 28, BlackBerry reported global revenue of $548 million, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter. This marked the first time in two years that the company reported two consecutive quarters of increasing revenue.

Recommended Videos

Of course, what everyone really wants to know is how the BlackBerry Priv, the company’s newest smartphone and its first foray into the Android universe, has sold in its first month. “The initial 30 days of sales has been quite positive,” said John Chen, BlackBerry’s CEO. “I don’t want to overhype things. It’s an expensive phone.”

While Chen wouldn’t give hard numbers, the company did reveal that it sold 700,000 handsets during its latest quarter. This number falls short of the 900,000 figure some analysts forecast and is down from the 800,000 handsets it sold in the previous quarter.

However, BlackBerry noted that the average price of the smartphones it sold last quarter was $315, up from $240 in the same quarter last year. Given that the BlackBerry Priv is easily the company’s most expensive device ($699), it seems safe to say that the Priv made up a sizable portion of the 700,000 devices sold last quarter.

“My first goal is to get us into a break-even position with the device business, because you really couldn’t do anything strategically with a business that continues to lose money,” Chen said during the earnings call. “We’re in that ballpark now.”

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…

Mobile

TCL won’t make BlackBerry phones anymore, sending the brand back into limbo

BlackBerry Key2 LE review

TCL Communication has announced it will no longer be making BlackBerry smartphones, after taking over the dormant brand at the end of 2016, and bringing it back to life with a series of ever-improving devices. In a statement tweeted out by the official BlackBerry Mobile account, TCL Communication does not have the rights to design, manufacture, or sell BlackBerry phones any longer.

This means the BlackBerry Key 2 LE will be the last BlackBerry-branded phone produced by TCL Communication to be released, and it follows the BlackBerry Key 2, and the BlackBerry KeyOne. TCL Communication’s BlackBerry phones took the features fans of the brand loved — the physical keyboard, long battery life, and extra levels of security — and put them inside modern hardware with Google Android software. While not for everyone, they were successful with those either familiar with the brand, or those looking for something a little different.
What does this mean for BlackBerry?
The future of BlackBerry phones is once again unknown. While TCL Communication will not make another BlackBerry phone, it does not necessarily mean we will never see another BlackBerry phone. It’s possible the global license could be snapped up by another company eager to capitalize on the brand’s highly recognizable name. HMD Global, for example, has seen considerable success with the Nokia name since acquiring the license, while British phone maker Bullitt owns the license to make phones from brands including Cat, JCB, and Land Rover.

Mobile

Everything you need to know about the OnePlus 13

Official OnePlus 13 product renders showing rear panel colors.

OnePlus is an excellent brand that offers powerful flagship phones at a great value compared to some of its competitors. We followed every rumor about the OnePlus 13 for months, but now it's here — and it's everything we hoped for. It might not be available in the Western market yet, but it will be soon.

So, what makes the OnePlus 13 so special? Here's everything you need to know about OnePlus' latest flagship.
When is the OnePlus 13 being released?

Mobile

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. MediaTek Dimensity 9400: the race is on

Comparison of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 processors.

The flagship mobile silicon race has entered its next phase, one that will dictate the trajectory of Android hardware heading into 2025. Merely weeks after MediaTek wowed us with the Dimensity 9400 system on a chip (SoC), Qualcomm also pulled a surprise with the reveal of the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

But this time around, the battle is not as straightforward. Where MediaTek is working closely with Arm and adopting its latest CPU and graphics innovations, Qualcomm has firmly put its faith in custom cores. These are no ordinary cores, but a next-gen iteration of the same fundamental tech stack that powers Windows on ARM laptops.