BlackBerry hasn’t had much luck in the hardware market for the past few years. All of the company’s smartphones flopped and ultimately BlackBerry decided to start licensing its brand name to other manufacturers who are now making Android-powered devices that carry the BB brand. The Canadian company is now out of the hardware game itself. It appears that one of its partners is interested in making a BlackBerry Android tablet.
BlackBerry did try its luck with tablets many years ago when it was still in the hardware game. The BlackBerry PlayBook didn’t perform as well as the company might have hoped and it wasn’t followed up with another tablet. The PlayBook was powered by BlackBerry’s own operating system.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen said during the company’s recent earnings call is that there’s a possibility that one of its partners may come out with a BlackBerry Android tablet.
He mentioned that this is going to be the second phase of the company’s licensing program which means that the BB brand may soon extend to co-branded devices and Internet of Things solutions.
Chen also pointed out that BlackBerry works with all of its partners closely to ensure that the level of safety and security that people have come to expect from its devices is maintained, if not improved.
