BlackBerry now should now give away custom BlackBerry 10.3 OS ROMs to OEMs, consumers and corporate users, says a report from Seeking Alpha by Alcaraz Research. The analysts argue this is the next logical move as the Canadian company has already made available BBM and other core apps for free to the Android users.
BlackBerry must make use of the billion plus Android users
In a bid to increase hardware and software revenues, Blackberry has been giving away free BBM and other apps to both Android and iOS users. However, all the company’s efforts to increase its revenues have had minimal impact. Therefore, the next logical move is offering the custom ROMs of its operating system for free, according to the SA report. BlackBerry should consider targeting the more than billion Android users to enhance the position of the Blackberry OS and services.
The analysts also added that the company can expect more future growth provided BlackBerry CEO John Chen allows consumers to freely download its operating system so that they can use their “old Android smartphones as new Blackberry 10 OS handsets.” In this way, the Canadian company will end up as the operating system of a smartphone through which it could monetize users. The report, for instance, notes the success of Google, which gave away its operating system in order to track users’ data and deliver personalized ads and cloud services.
More focus on ad revenue
Furthermore, Chen can also follow in the footsteps of Facebook and Google by making Blackberry a platform for mobile advertising. The company introduced advertisements on BBM last year, so now it can go a step further and make the entire BB 10 OS and services available for the mobile. This could led to eventual profits for Blackberry as having the most ‘eyeballs’ for the mobile ads can be more profitable than selling software.
The SA report emphasizes that the company should market and release the custom BlackBerry 10.3 ROMs to OEMs, consumers and corporate users, adding “The procedure to flash/install a stock or custom operating system on a smartphone is not that complicated. Millions of people are doing it.”
