Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) are up almost 5% Wednesday following the announcement of a partnership with Amazon.com (AMZN) that would give users of the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system access to some 240,000 Android apps on Amazon’s App store.
The partnership is meant to triple BlackBerry’s phone applications number without developing new ones themselves, while allowing it to concentrate in all aspects of Enterprise Software, an area that appeals to the firm’s targeted corporate and government market.
“We can leverage what [Amazon] can offer,” and gain access to BlackBerry’s customers, BlackBerry CEO John Chen, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.
“I do not have to spend time, energy and money” developing apps that Amazon already offers, Chen told the newspaper. “Given I want to financially turn around the company and focus on the enterprise space, this is perfect for us.”
The Amazon Appstore will be available alongside the BlackBerry 10.3 platform this fall.
The news comes a day before BlackBerry announces its earnings report and the same day the Seattle, Wash.-based e-commerce giant is expected to unveil its long-rumored 3D smartphone, which Chen does not see as competition.
“Making the Amazon Appstore available on BlackBerry 10 devices will help BlackBerry continue to meet two essential needs: greater app availability for our smartphone users and enhanced productivity solutions for enterprises,” Chen said in press release announcing the deal.
“We’ve listened to our customers and have taken this important step to deliver on their needs, while executing on our strategy.”
Price action: In early trading, Blackberry rose 4.50% to $8.43, while Amazon climbed 1.36% to $330 and change.
Leave a Reply