BlackBerry CEO Has No Interest In Making Bargain Bin Phones

Well, that answers that. With BlackBerry, formerly known as RIM, in a make-it-or-break-it situation with BB10 as well as the Z10 and Q10 handsets, the company's CEO has confirmed that it won't be delving into the low-end market that it has done quite well in in the past. BlackBerry phones have sold like hotcakes in emerging markets, helping the company to bolster itself while sales fell in developed nations like the U.S., but now, it appears that BB10 won't be tailored to bargain bin phones. Much like Apple, it seems that Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins plans on focusing on flagship products, and then allowing those flagship products to trickle down to lower-end customers as newer flagship products are launched. If you look at the iPhone line, the iPhone 4 and 3GS can be found for next-to-nothing -- so, Apple still serves a lower-end market, but by a trickle-down effect.


The BlackBerry maker's CEO said: "Understand where you are playing and resist being talked into segments that you know will not serve your purpose and will not result in shareholder value. You will not see us getting into the 50-, 60-buck phone segment. This is not BlackBerry."

Without a doubt, the Z10 has a premium price tag, going on sale for over $700 in unlocked form in the few nations that it is already on sale in. It makes sense, however, given that BlackBerry isn't exactly in the position to focus a lot of resources on phones with low margins. The company needs a comeback, and that's going to come from high margin products.