BlackBerry has already sold 200,000 Passport smartphones

BlackBerry Ltd. says it has sold 200,000 Passport smartphones, which are profitable at the current price points of $599 in the U.S. and C$699 ($627) in Canada. The square-screened Passport sold out in 6 hours on BlackBerry’s website and within 10 hours on Amazon.com, Chief Executive Officer John Chen said today on the company’s earnings conference call. BlackBerry unveiled the Passport two days ago, pitching it as a productivity-focused device for business users, as opposed to the iPhone’s general consumer base. Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus saw record demand, with more than 10 million sold in their debut last weekend. The Passport is BlackBerry’s first major new device introduced globally since Chen was named CEO in November, the same day that a planned buyout of the company collapsed. With a 4.5-inch (11.4-centimeter) screen and a physical qwerty keyboard that doubles as a touch-sensitive swipe pad, the Passport is focused on work productivity.