While the update to Blackberry 7 might have been something of a big deal back then, it did not prevent Blackberry (formerly known as RIM) to lose ground to platforms such as iOS and Android. With the release of Blackberry 10, many assumed this would be how Blackberry would regain some of its former market share and would push as hard as they can to get Blackberry 10 into as many hands as possible. Interestingly though, that does not seem to be the case. According to Blackberry’s CEO, Thorsten Heins, in an interview with CBC, he revealed that Blackberry would continue making new Blackberry 7 device, although he did state that they will only be available to certain regions around the world. If we had to guess, Blackberry would probably limit Blackberry 7 devices to countries where they have a stronger foothold in, and regions such as Africa, India and Indonesia come to mind where Blackberry’s presence is pretty strong.
Obviously Blackberry wouldn’t completely cut Blackberry 7 upon launch of Blackberry 10 and the Z10, so it makes sense that they are focusing on emerging markets, while targeting more developed markets with the Z10. It is unclear if this is part of Blackberry’s plan to slowly phase out Blackberry 7, or if the Canadian company will continue keeping both divisions.
