TechWeek Readers See Future For BlackBerry In Smartphones

Nearly three quarters of TechWeekEurope readers still associate BlackBerry with devices, despite the company’s transition to services over the past few years.

Of course, BlackBerry was once the market leader in smartphones and the device of choice for those in security conscious environments, regulated industries and government. As the popularity of its handsets waned, it hoped to reinvent itself to survive.

The Canadian manufacturer’s recovery strategy has focused on providing services like mobile device management, instant messaging and security to businesses, and in recent months, it has made major acquisitions in the form of Good Technology and UK-based firm Encription.

BlackBerry future

BlackBerry still makes devices of course, but these cater mainly for BlackBerry enthusiasts who appreciate the classic QWERTY keyboard design, and the company has suggested that it could stop making smartphones altogether – despite the critical success of the Android-powered BlackBerry Priv.

But according to our poll, 74.2 percent of readers see BlackBerry as a device manufacturer. Of this figure, 61.5 percent think BlackBerry is both a devices and services company and 12.7 percent see the company as solely a device firm. Just 5.9 percent think BlackBerry is a service-focused operation.

However a fifth (19.9 percent) think BlackBerry is irrelevant – bad news for the Waterloo, Ontario-based firm. Do you agree? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Speaking of secure mobile, our next poll asks whether Apple and other phone makers should unlock devices for law enforcement agencies, as the FBI wants Apple to do. You can share your view here.