One of the key takeaways from this morning’s Opening Keynote in Orlando is that BlackBerry is intending to fire on all cylinders moving forward.
BlackBerry is not just a smartphone company. They are positioning themselves as a “mobile” company first. Which means consumers (enterprise and the individual) around the world can expect to see BlackBerry not just in their phones. Cars, other smartphones, at work and in industries such as healthcare and education.
Fifteen minutes into his keynote at BlackBerry Live in Orlando, CEO and President Thorsten Heins tipped his hand on one of the pillars of the future of BlackBerry’s consumer business: Emerging markets.
With the unveiling of the new BlackBerry Q5 (running on the BlackBerry 10 platform) BlackBerry has put it’s future not in the developed world but in the developing world.
“BlackBerry is excited to bring a new BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone, the BlackBerry Q5, to our customers in selected markets around world,” said Heins, . “The BlackBerry Q5 gives you the best of everything with its cutting-edge BlackBerry 10 functionality and a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is for youthful fans that are passionate, confident and bold, and it makes it easy for them to have fun, create, share and stay connected.”
The Q5 smartphone will feature all of the highlights of the BlackBerry 10 experience but will be a more affordable low-cost device featuring BlackBerry’s historical signature QWERTY keyboard.
Although Heins mentions selected markets, don’t be fooled. These selected markets will specifically focus on emerging markets. Later this summer expect to see the Q5 introduced in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.