Editor’s Note: Related tickers: BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Even with the launch of the latest mobile operating system and some new smartphones, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) still keeps on failing to establish a major smartphone platform that could be behind the lead of Android from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and iOS from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) dropped to fourth place since its market share plunged to 3% from 2012’s 5%. The International Data Corporation, a research firm, stated that the new market share of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) reached “levels not seen in the history of IDC’s mobile phone tracker.” Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s windows Phone platform took BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s position with 3.7% of the whole market share, up from last year’s 3.1%. The Wall Street Journal’s Will Connors said the global market share of Android rose to 79.3% from last year’s 69.1%. On the other hand, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share of the worldwide smartphone market nose-dived to 13.2% from 2012’s 16.6%.
BlackBerry Messenger for iOS, Android soon (INToday)
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is going to take a huge leap of faith in the next few weeks by releasing its best app, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) Messenger, for Android and iOS. While BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is yet to give an official date for the same, a press note released by Samsung Electronics Africa said the app will be part of the Samsung Messaging Hub soon. It will be available through its app store for Galaxy devices in the near future. Meanwhile, BBM for iOS and Android have been seeded out to some testers. Annie Mathew, Director, Business Development and Alliances, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) India said she couldn’t specify a date by which the service would start functioning cross-platform.
Three senior BlackBerry executives laid-off (BGR)
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is probably going through the roughest period ever in its history. Its smartphones are not setting the market on fire and its ubiquitous advantage in enterprise security and messaging is quickly fading. After announcing another round of lay-offs two weeks ago, now CBC News is reporting that three senior executives from the company are also facing the axe. Doug Kozak, VP for corporate information technology, Carmine Arabia, SVP, global manufacturing and supply chain and Graeme Whittington, VP, service operations are set to leave the company as it downsizes further.
Options Action: Bullish bet on BlackBerry (CNBC)
Android smartphones reign as iPhone, BlackBerry drop (ABS-CBNNews)
Smartphones powered by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android software increased their global market share as iPhones lost ground in the absence of new models being unleashed by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the International Data Corporation reported Wednesday. Android’s share of the smartphone market grew to 79.3 percent in the second quarter while that of iPhone slipped to 13.2 percent from 16.6 percent in the same three-month period last year, according to IDC figures. “The iOS decline in the second quarter aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone,” said IDC mobile phone research team manager Ramon Llamas, referring to the software platform on which the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) handsets are built.
