Blackberry to launch two Android phones

Blackberry will launch two mid-range Android handsets this year, chief executive John Chen 

has said.

One will have a physical keyboard, the other a full touch-screen.

Blackberry has no plans to develop handsets for its own operating system, BB10, but will 

continue to issue updates for existing devices.

Its sales fell by almost $200m in the three months to the end of February. Mr Chen said its 

first Android device, the Priv, had been too expensive.

"The fact that we came out with a high-end phone was probably not as wise as it should have 

been," he told United Arab Emirates news website the National.

"A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, 'I want to buy your phone, but $700 [£491] 

is a little too steep for me. I'm more interested in a $400 device.'"

Mr Chen had previously blamed the company's poor sales figures on delays in negotiations 

with mobile networks about its Priv handset.

Last month, Facebook and its Whatsapp messaging service announced they were to stop 

supporting their Blackberry apps.

Blackberry said it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision.

"If Blackberry is determined to remain in the hardware business, the decision to offer new 

devices with mid-range pricing is a sensible move," said analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight.

"We believe there is an opportunity with business users who don't want the expense of giving 

iPhones to their employees and want a robust, affordable and secure Android smartphone 

tailored to business use."