BlackBerry bets big on bringing back the Bold, beefing up BB

BlackBerry keyboard
BlackBerry has proven that the QWERTY isn't dead yet

BlackBerry CEO John Chen capped off the company's latest earnings call with the news that he's bringing back the BlackBerry Bold.

That means, among other things, that the BlackBerry 7 OS isn't quite dead yet.

Previously the company focused all its efforts on the newer BlackBerry 10, but with Chen in charge it seems BlackBerry won't let the past go just yet.

The QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry Bold was one of the most popular BlackBerry models globally, so putting it back into production might be just the thing to juice up BB's comeback effort.

Desktop BBM

In related news, it seems BlackBerry is also considering bringing BlackBerry Messenger to desktop platforms.

There was a time when BBM was exclusive to BlackBerry devices, but that era ended when BBM arrived on iOS and Android in 2013. A Windows Phone version is imminent as well.

Now it seems the messaging app might jump to Windows, OS X and maybe even Linux, according to Chen, who told Reuters that the company is "going to take a very serious look at putting BBM on the desktop."

Moving forward

BlackBerry's quarterly results could have been worse, Chen admitted.

The Canadian company posted a loss of $423 million (about £254m, AU$457m), but Chen said he's "very pleased" with BlackBerry's progress.

In more BlackBerry news, Chen said the rumored BlackBerry Z3 will launch globally after a soft launch in Indonesia in April, and that the "classic" BlackBerry Q20 may be ready for a Q1 2015 release.

Via TechCrunch, Engadget

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.