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BlackBerry considers Chinese partnership (RCR Mobile Minute)

BlackBerry thinks Chinese smartphone-makers could benefit from its security expertise, and CEO John Chen has been calling on the leaders of China’s biggest handset-makers. According to Bloomberg, Chen has met with Lenovo’s Yang Yuanqing and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun.

Lenovo and Xiaomi are the two largest smartphone-makers in China. Xiaomi is the current leader in the Chinese smartphone market. Lenovo has just completed its purchase of Motorola Mobility from Google, which will make it the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor by market share. Chen also met with HTC CEO Cher Wang, chair of Taiwanese handset-maker HTC.

Chen took over as CEO of BlackBerry about a year ago, and the company’s stock price has almost doubled in value since that time. Chen says BlackBerry has completed the first phase of a two-year turnaround, and that going forward the company will limit the number of devices it launches.

A partnership with a strong Chinese manufacturer could be a good way for BlackBerry to increase its software market share without investing in new devices. Software is also the business that Chen knows best. The Hong Kong native led the turnaround of Sybase, a database software-maker, before taking the helm at BlackBerry.

The Mobile Minute is sponsored by Juniper Networks.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.