BlackBerry Ltd's launch of its square-screened Passport
device may have grabbed headlines this week, but it was the tech company's
lower-profile roll out of the new Blend feature that appears to be garnering
the plaudits.
Reuters reports that even
as reviewers and analysts were torn on the prospects of the unconventionally
shaped Passport, they were brimming with praise for Blend, which lets users
seamlessly bridge messaging and content between a host of devices irrespective
of operating systems.
"While the new Passport device
attracted the most attention, to us the announcement of BlackBerry Blend is
more important," said RBC Capital Markets analyst
Mark Sue in a note on Thursday.
He
noted that Blend is one of the key elements of a strategy aimed at adapting to
the needs of large companies, where workers are pushing for flexibility to use
devices of their own choice.
BlackBerry, under the leadership of new
Chief Executive John Chen, has been
