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BlackBerry CEO John Chen Hints at Mid Range Android Phone for 2016

BlackBerry CEO John Chen Hints at Mid-Range Android Phone for 2016

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 22 December 2015 11:06 IST

BlackBerry recently reported its first quarter-to-quarter increase in revenue in more than two years. In terms of devices/ hardware, the company saw rise in Priv Android slider smartphone demand.

Now, the company CEO John Chen has hinted that it may launch another Android smartphone next year which will be targeted at the mid-range segment. He however stressed that the company's focus will be "more towards" the high-end.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chen elaborated when asked about plans for another Android phone, "Depends on the Priv. If the Priv is well received in the market and looks like it is. There's a good chance [...], we will still focus on the high-end probably closer to mid-range coming out in 2016."

On being asked about any timeline for launch, Chen cleared that this will completely depend on the Priv's performance in the coming months. Adding further, he confirmed that the BlackBerry Priv, which has been available in select markets since last month, will be hitting 31 more markets in the next three months.

To recall, the BlackBerry Priv, the company's first Android-based smartphone, went on sale in the first week of November in four markets.

The Canadian company may not have revealed any clear plans for a second Android phone but a new BlackBerry smartphone was in benchmark listings last month tipping that the company may be testing use of Samsung's Exynos chips in its devices. The BlackBerry smartphone codenamed STV100-1 was seen in GFXBench listings with Samsung's octa-core Exynos 7420 processor clocked at 2.1GHz. BlackBerry's purported second Android smartphone, believed to be codenamed "Vienna", was leaked in images last month.

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Further reading: BlackBerry, BlackBerry Mobiles, BlackBerry Priv, John Chen, Mobiles

Ketan Pratap

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Ketan Pratap is the editor at Gadgets 360 - with over 12 years of experience covering the technology domain. With a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, he's done extensive work across news, features, reviews, and opinion pieces. But what's truly inspiring about Ketan is how he spends his free time. He's often found gazing at snow-capped mountains from over 20,000 feet while sitting on the hood of his car, taking in the breathtaking beauty of nature. His passion for the great ...More