BlackBerry will no longer make SmartPhones

BlackBerry thought that adopting Android would give it a slight chance to return to profitability. As it turned out, it took its last breath today.

BlackBerry, formerly world’s largest smartphone company, is putting a stop to its in-house production and designing of smartphones. It will instead outsource both and license its name to companies in markets overseas, including Indonesia and China where the company is still big.

As it currently stands, it looks like the end-of-the-line for another of industry’s former stalwarts, as it is not quite known when phones under such agreements will arrive.

The focus has shifted from hardware to software, which is expecting a growth of 30-percent despite an overall loss of $372 million.

“Our new Mobility Solutions strategy is showing signs of momentum,” said John S. Chen, BlackBerry CEO, “including our first major device software licensing agreement with a telecom joint venture in Indonesia. Under this strategy, we are focusing on software development, including security and applications.”

“The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners. This allows us to reduce capital requirements and enhance return on invested capital.”

When such licensed phones arrive, it won’t be a surprise as BlackBerry’s latest phone, the DTEK50, does the same. With BlackBerry’s name slapped on an Alcatel Idol 4’s body, it is likely a trail-blazer.

We can’t say the signs weren’t there. BlackBerry’s share took a dive since the iPhone released, mainly due to the company’s inability to keep up with the touchscreen trend for years.

The executives gave a target of 3 million phones in sales for the company to stay in the market. With a share of 0.1-percent despite the ever-present loyalists, BlackBerry barely sold 400,000 units, which proved the last nail in the coffin.

INTEL to Start Producing ARM Based Chips for Smartphones

Intel and ARM are the two biggest competitors in the world for chip architecture. But recently Intel has entered into a licensing agreement with its rival ARM to manufacture 10-nanometer ARM-Based chips in Intel factories.

The agreement was announced yesterday at the Intel Developer Forum and it’s part of a strategic move from Intel to offer its large-scale custom chip manufacturing facilities to third-party manufacturers.

The new chips are designed to compete with smartphone chipmakers such as Qualcomm and potentially, Apple.

LG Joins the Intel-ARM Bandwagon

Intel also announced that the South Korean consumer electronics company LG will be one of the first to use Intel’s new service.

LG Electronics will produce a world-class mobile platform based on Intel Custom Foundry’s10 nm design platform

LG stated that it is likely to produce a “world-class mobile platform” of its own design based on ARM and it is destined for release in a new smartphone. With LG on board, Intel will also try to find a way to reel in Apple too. Apple A-series chipsets are also based on the ARM architecture, that are made by Samsung, although it is heavily customized by their own engineering teams. Apple, however, is unlikely to make a switch due to its standing contract with TSMC.

I think it can make a real difference in the industry. For me, it simply makes sense. – WillAbbey, GM at Artisan IP at ARM

Intel will now be able to manufacture 64-bit ARM cores and physical IP in Intel’s own factories. Before this license, excess of manufacturing space at Intel was going to waste. With the new agreement, Intel can make processors for the giants in the smartphone industry such as Apple, Samsung, LG and others. This gives the Intel a much-needed boost in the smartphone space that it wasn’t able to achieve on its own.