As many are aware, BlackBerry has stopped making its own hardware. Instead the company has licensed out its brand to TCL who has been making BlackBerry phones for the past couple of years. However it seems that despite BlackBerry no longer making hardware, it sure seems like they wish they did.Speaking on the latest episode of Recode Decode, BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen revealed that he would love to see a revival of certain classic BlackBerry handsets, like the Bold 9900, even if BlackBerry isn’t necessarily the one to make it themselves. According to Chen, “You remember the 9900, the Bold? It fits right in your palm. I think somebody should make that.”
In terms of phone sizes, Chen does have a point. These days smartphones are getting bigger and while trimming the bezels does help reduce its footprint, it can still feel a bit unwieldy. As to whether or not BlackBerry could return to hardware, Chen doesn’t rule it out completely, but also notes that they happy where they are now.
“I would never say never. For the foreseeable future, I think our strategy works really well. But I think there might be a need in this world for a phone that is very simple and just focused on secure email, secure texts and a basic browser.” In the meantime what do you guys think? Do phones like the BlackBerry Bold 9900 still have a place in today’s smartphone landscape?
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