The BlackBerry brand was set to return, under a license for several years, thanks to Foxconn-owned OnwardMobility. Finally, the buyer throws in the towel.
At the top of the pre-iPhone telephony world, BlackBerry has been living in hell for 10 years. Long overtaken by the smartphone and its Android competitors (Samsung, HTC, LG), BlackBerry finally threw in the towel in 2015. The following year, the Canadian company decided to license its brand to the Chinese company TCL, which released Android devices with the famous code. Blackberry keyboard. Then the Chinese manufacturer abandoned the brand in turn, leaving its future in suspense.
In 2020, OnwardMobility, little known to the general public but owned by the giant Foxconn, announced its intention to revive the iconic Canadian brand. Advertise now on his site (Accessed February 22, 2022) She abandoned it, making the future of BlackBerry very uncertain.
A dispute about the brand?
Initially, the failure of OnwardMobility is due to BlackBerry. According to Android Police, the Canadian company would have done everything to block the project, although it gave its approval in 2020. Its CEO John Chen no longer wanted to see the BlackBerry brand associated with the world of smartphones. OnwardMobility’s press release, which says it has waived its “Developing a highly secure phone with a keyboard” It seems to confirm this indiscretion. OnwardMobility does not appear to have the right to explicitly mention BlackBerry, which dilutes its project. A keyboard phone is more likely to work if it relies on nostalgia.
Oddly enough, OnwardMobility has no intention of trying to do anything else. Its subsidiary Foxconn announced its complete shutdown and burial of the remainder of the BlackBerry Pass. Except for a big surprise, the company now appears to be a relic of the past.
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