BlackBerry might consider entering the tablet market

BlackBerry may take another run at the tablet market. That’s if CEO John Chen thinks the opportunity is right. “It’s not in the works, but it’s on my mind,” Chen said in an interview at the Mobile World Congress conference here. A BlackBerry tablet could satisfy the needs of a small but fiercely loyal group of productivity-focused customers who have stuck with the struggling smartphone maker and its operating system, potentially giving it a new revenue stream. But there aren’t enough BlackBerry faithful to sustain such a business, especially given the tablet category saw its first year-over-year decline in shipments in the fourth quarter. With its market share at less than 1 percent, BlackBerry seems open to experimentation. Last year brought the unusually wide BlackBerry Passport, with a square screen accompanied by a squatter version of the line’s trademark keyboard. On Tuesday, BlackBerry offered a brief glimpse at a touchscreen smartphone with curved edges on the sides and a slide-out keyboard.