Before Steve Jobs changed the world of smartphones by introducing the touchscreen on iPhone in 2007, there were two dominant keyboard phones - Nokia and Blackberry. The two brands were the smartphones standard bearers while Apple was the daring upstart.
Today, as iPhone celebrates its 10th anniversary with strong sale and growing global market share - the two former kings of mobile phones are faced with rare and slim chance to keep their names alive after years of obscurity and irrelevance.
Nokia and Blackberry are now heavily rely on their licences from their respective companies (HMD for Nokia and TLC for BlackBerry) - and these companies are the one that will either help the brands sink or swim.
They were the symbols of status back then, but because of their third party software both brands fell behind.
A struggling Nokia sided with Microsoft to create the doomed Lumia line when Microsoft bought a 10-year license to the Nokia name - which it abandoned after 5.
Whereas for Blackberry, it faltered with its own BlackBerry OS before change to Android with its own security software.
Both brands are set to have their latest flagship phones to be introduced globally - Nokia 6 (a midranger already released in China) and BlackBerry Mercury. According to CNET, they are expected to be launched internationally at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this coming February.
Nokia 6 is the brand's first Android phone, and it is interesting to see when the company picked China as their first market whereas Google Play services are disable in China. Its MWC launch will be its public debut in full-on Googly action as a Nokia's first Android phone.
Both former kings of mobile phones have similar goals, but different ways of claiming their thrones back. Mercury aims for the high end, while Nokia 6 is firmly in the midrange with its current price set about $250.
It is currently unknown of what HMD plans for Nokia, however it is reported that it plans to dole out $500 million over the next three years on global marketing.
Nokia did best as a low-cost brand with solid hardware especially in emerging markets and cost-conscious during its dark Microsoft Lumia days - and its name became a value buy. There is a chance that Nokia could come fight in the mid-tier, now that Android is at its side.
Meanwhile BlackBerry will continue to struggle with an identity crises for its software that primes as a business device rather than the one that the everyday consumer would want. Its signature hard QWERTY keyboard however does appeal to anyone who prefers to have physical than virtual typing, as described by CBC.
Once upon a time, you could expect stalwart fans to prop up sales of the latest Nokia and BlackBerry phones, at least initially. But with all but the die-hard fanboys having given up and moved on to Android or iPhone alternatives, it remains to be seen if these legacy brands can even carve out a niche in the middle or low end. Only time will tell.
