Problem
Not to knock Mr. John Chen, but his background is turning around a technology company by having another bigger technology company buy it. He may have what it takes and it looks like he's doing a decent job thus far, but is the end game acquisition? That will take stripping out a lot of the "phone" part, and leaving the technology part. Some one will come along and buy them for their technology, not because of their phones. It'll probably work.
However, Blackberry ("BBRY") is already a great technology company, but yet no one wants to buy their phones. It is probably one of the best in the mobile handset space. They have excellent encryption/security, a keyboard, great battery life, and many other fundamental features that make it a powerful device.
But what's happening in the marketplace is Apple and Samsung are busy copying each other. Huawei, HTC & ZTE are playing catch-up, and "me-too." Then there are companies like Xiaomi who are entering the market and dominating various markets with cheap smartphones.
The only thing that people want to copy from Blackberry is it's keyboard layout as a peripheral to an iPhone and they are getting sued because of it. But yes, I'd buy one for $99, regardless.
Now lets look at consumer realities... kids 12 - 25 use their smartphones for Snapchat, Twitter, Messenger, Vine, YouTube and other short-attention-span apps. Then there is also Soundcloud, iTunes, Pandora, etc., for music. Of course the camera to capture every aspect of their social life and to take selfies of their current mood. What they are not using it for is Web Browsing and Talking. In fact, all of my 4 kids have iPhones and of the 4 icons at the bottom, the "Phone" one is not there. They've moved it into a utilities folder.
Solution
First.
Recognize the Blackberry phone for what it is. It's a great phone for sending messages on whatever platform (Snapchat, Twitter, Messenger, Txt, Email, whatever). They need to make it the same size as the iPhone 6 (I think AAPL hit it out of the park with the size. It's perfect.) and have the top be a square display of high resolution with a front facing camera (and rear-facing one). The bottom section is a manual tactile keyboard. No more predictive text for auto-correct errors. Hate those. Remember the KISS concept? Live it. Ensure security, encryption, secured cloud storage, etc. All data/music/pictures can live in the "Black Cloud" (secured and trusted) without worrying if you will be the victim of the latest Fappening.
Second.
BBRY has a secret weapon that everyone knows about, but they do nothing to capitalize upon it. It's called the PIN. Each BBRY has a unique 8 digit Hex Code associated with it. It is akin to a phone number / email address, social security number, etc. and it is unique. That unique PIN is the answer to Unified Communications. Let users use their PIN to provide to people, forward calls, ring multiple devices, etc. Give people control over their mobile life tied to the PIN. Why memorize a phone number, email, SkyeID, etc., when it can be accomplished with a simple 8 digit code? I can then control what device (or communication means) the recipient I shared my PIN with has access to.
And Third.
Fight back in the market with a blitz advertising campaign on people using it because it works and is simple and just gets the job done. It used to be a status symbol of high power attorneys, stock brokers, CEOs and politicians. I could not wait to get one, but that didn't happen until I worked for BBRY. It should be glorified. Kids use it to communicate via Snapchat, Vine, Twitter -- not to talk on it or browse the web. Professionals use it to get the job done. They all have a place, but BBRY is missing its.
That all being said, BBRY needs to come out with the Blackberry Kiss. The size of the iPhone 6, with amazing resolution, and forward/rear cameras, keyboard and great battery life. The Kiss would include 1Tb of secured cloud storage for anything and everything: contacts, music, documents, photos, messages, etc.
That's a phone I'd buy. But be careful... it'll leave a mark. (now that's a campaign!)