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
altering its focus. Chen wants BlackBerry
to be a competitor in the smartphone arena, but is also building on its
strengths in areas like mobile data security and mobile device management.
"Blend underpins BlackBerry’s
enterprise strategy," said RBC's Sue, noting that recent acquisitions give
BlackBerry a further boost in the enterprise market.
Earlier this month, BlackBerry acquired
Movirtu a U.K.-based mobile technology start-up whose software allows users to have
multiple phone numbers on the same device. This followed its acquisition of
voice and data encryption firm Secusmart in July.
The Blend system allows a user to get
message notifications, read and respond to work and personal email, text and
other messages, while also accessing files, calendars, contacts and other
media, on whatever device one is using.
The system works across operating
systems including Apple's Mac OS, Microsoft's Windows platform and tablets
powered by Google's Android software.
No comments:
Post a Comment