BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is still popular among some Hollywood types, and acting legend Bill Murray recently joined in by getting a BlackBerry phone for himself, says a report from Page Six. Previously, it was difficult to connect with Murray as he was available only through an 800 number. Murray announced this week he has selected a BlackBerry phone among all brands.
No information on the device that Bill owns
“I got it to communicate with my sons, because they will not answer a phone call, but they will answer a text,” he tells Variety’s Ramin Setoodeh. There is no revelation of the model that he got for himself, but it could be new Passport, like fellow actor Tim Allen.
Likely not many people will have Bill’s new BlackBerry phone number, but one lucky person to have the number is his “St. Vincent” co-star Naomi Watts, who says that people are always trying to get ahold of Murray. She said three people have already contacting her asking if she “can get a script to Bill?’” I’m like, ‘Do I look like an agent?’
Will Passport improve things for BlackBerry?
The BlackBerry passport garnered much attention, and even rival brand users were drooling over the suave and stylish BlackBerry. However, it looks doubtful the phone will help the company to regain much share in the smartphone market. The company still has a long way to go in its handset business revival. There is more than one recent story of BlackBerry new smartphones failing miserably, such as the Z3 and Q10. The Canadian smartphone maker failed to effectively market its Z3.
Many BlackBerry loyalists still believe that the company will forge a turnaround. New management at the company has brought the company out of the red by diversifying into software and services.
In the most recent quarter, there was some good news when the firm revealed that it has issued 3.4 million licenses for BES 10, almost three times the 1.2 million licenses in the previous quarter. Many tagged the progress to BlackBerry’s basic license trade-up giveaway, but it should not be ruled out that CIOs and IT management companies are aware of the fact that even if something is free, a poor service becomes “expensive” in terms of wasted time and other problems.
