Hasta La Gadget!

At the Mobile World Congress 2014, where the company showed off BlackBerry Z3, CEO John Chen said that they’re working on a high-end QWERTY model which will go back to the Bold’s roots. The company hasn’t shown it as yet, but Chen did tease a bit about it at MWC. Its going to have a Bold-like look, apart from a trackpad and the iconic function key belt. At the time this smartphone was referred to as the BlackBerry Q20. Chen has now confirmed that it has been renamed, and will be launched as “BlackBerry Classic.”

Talking to reporters, Chen said that BlackBerry plans to focus on making QWERTY keyboard touting smartphones, but it will also come up with a few touchscreen models as well. The company’s device strategy for 2014 isn’t entirely out in the open as yet. So far it has only unveiled the Z3 which will initially be destined for emerging markets, though a LTE variant will be sold in major markets like the U.S.

BlackBerry decided to lean on the past in order to retain and bring back loyalists, users who can’t imagine using a BlackBerry without a trackpad and the function key belt. Since the BB Classic isn’t expected until fiscal 2015, the company has even restarted production of the Bold 9900 to bring a subset of those users back in the fold once again.

It appears that Chen may have been able to convince everyone over at BlackBerry that straying from the naming scheme laid down last year might be beneficial in the long run. Will a clean slate help? Time will tell.

BlackBerry Q20 Renamed ‘BlackBerry Classic’ , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Classic, John Chen,

Some might say that BlackBerry CEO John Chen has one of the most toughest jobs in this particular market. That’s because he has been handed the reins of a company that’s bleeding cash, struggling for its survival in the market and trying to come up with products that it kickstart is turnaround. Chen has made several changes since taking the top job at Waterloo, and his next target is to curtail product leaks. Chen says that people who leak “critical and confidential” information about BlackBerry’s plans may face criminal prosecution.

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BlackBerry CEO John Chen Declares War On Leakers original content from Ubergizmo.

Prior to bringing John Chen on board, BlackBerry’s stock had reached new lows last year. The board ousted the sitting CEO, brought Chen in, who then began to restructure the company as well as the top level management. Even though it hasn’t been an overnight success, the market believes that BlackBerry has a fighting chance under new leadership, which is why its stock has slowly climbed its way back up over the past few months. One of the things most admired about Chen is the fact that he’s often blunt about the crisis BlackBerry finds itself in, recently in an interview he remarked that BlackBerry’s turnaround plans have a 50 percent chance of failing.

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BlackBerry CEO Gives Turnaround Plans 50% Chance original content from Ubergizmo.

In an interview with CNBC earlier today, BlackBerry CEO John Chen remarked that he would sell BlackBerry Messenger if someone came to him with a $19 billion offer, he’d “definitely sell,” and “recommend the board to take it.” Before people start flaming him out, its not that Chen was touting some absurd valuation of BBM which we all know isn’t worth $19 billion, BlackBerry’s entire market cap sits just above $5 billion. The $19 billion figure has been raising eyebrows recently because that’s what Facebook paid for WhatsApp.

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BlackBerry CEO Says He’d Sell BBM If Someone Offered $19 Billion original content from Ubergizmo.

BlackBerry has gone through quite a few major changes in the past couple of months. The company abandoned a plan to sell itself after the only takeover bid it had received fell through due to rumored funding issues. Instead it received a $1 billion institutional investment and drove out its CEO Thorsten Heins. Former Sybase CEO John Chen was brought on as interim CEO and executive chair of the board. Back then the company announced that Chen would man the helm until a permanent CEO was found. The “interim” has been quietly dropped from Chen’s title, and BlackBerry has confirmed that he won’t be stepping down soon.

Adam Emery, a spokesman for BlackBerry confirmed that Chen is going to have the top job at BlackBerry until the company is back on “solid financial footing.” He also confirmed that the search for a CEO has now been put on the “back burner.” Chen has already set the wheels in motion for the turnaround of this ailing Canadian manufacturer. He is focused on returning BlackBerry back to its roots and focusing primarily on government and enterprise customers. Design and risk related to the device business have been outsourced to Foxconn, which will handle low-end and mid-range devices that are geared towards emerging markets. Having lost $4.4 billion last quarter, the company still has a couple of billion in cash and continues to tighten its belt so as to find the permanent road to sustainability.

Search For BlackBerry CEO Has Been Put On The ‘Back Burner’ original content from Ubergizmo.