In line with other smartphone makers, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is also testing a wearable, according to John Sims, president of BlackBerry Enterprise Solutions. Sims confirmed the development while giving an interview to reporters at Super Mobility Week in Las Vegas.
Smart Glasses also in sight
Sims, who heads BBM messenger services, said that the company is testing both smartwatches and smart glasses, saying that he would love to run BBM on a wearable and that it is definitely an area of research for the company.
It is not known if BlackBerry will ship wearables to users, but CEO John Chen has ensured that the company will continue selling smartphones and tablets until future products make money. Sims said that there are plenty of BlackBerry users who like a physical QWERTY keyboard.
According to IDG and other analyst firms, the Canadian smartphone manufacturer never discloses its user base, but it is less than 1% of all smartphone sales in the second quarter. The company is looking forward to expanding in markets other than North America and Europe and to putting out the already-announced Z3 smartphone, primarily for other markets, in February.
Other catalysts for BlackBerry
The Canadian firm has been hogging the limelight with its much-anticipated 4.5-inch display Passport smartphone, which is expected to launch toward the end of this month. The Passport will come packed with a physical keypboard and will also work as a touchscreen. The gadget has already appeared on websites such as GSMArena.com.
BlackBerry is also expanding into the Internet of Things (IoT) by building an infrastructure that can gather data used in workplace applications, such as truck fleet tracking. Additionally, the company is enhancing its QNX operating system and spreading into new areas, such as infotainment used in vehicles.
Sims also noted that the company will launch its latest version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, BES12, in November, which he boasts to be the best in its class. Also BlackBerry is working on creating a dual personality BlackBerry Balance technology to compartmentalize work and personal uses on other platforms.
“That’s an area you can expect to see from us in the future,” he said.
With dual personality on smartphones, businesses will be able to pay for services for work-related calls and data. A recent California court decision ordered companies to pay for employees’ work-related calls.
