BlackBerry is planning to release 2 new Android phones, despite weak Priv sales

The Priv, BlackBerry's best smartphone in a decade, has not helped the struggling smartphone company rebound.

BlackBerry sold just 600,000 of the Priv, which runs Android, between January and March. CEO John Chen blamed the poor sales on the device being "too high-end of a product."

Last month BlackBerry announced the Priv would be coming to Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. But it looks like the company's canceled launch plans for Sprint. 

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That's disappointing news, but it shouldn't shock anyone. Last year, T-Mobile overtook Sprint as the No. 3 carrier in the U.S., no doubt due to its aggressive "Uncarrier" initiatives such as Music Freedom and Binge On, both of which let customers stream music and video from select services without it counting towards their data plan.

BlackBerry plans to release two mid-range Android phones this year.

BlackBerry CEO John Chen told The National the company plans to release two midrange Android phones this year. One will have have a keyboard and one will have a full touchscreen.

"A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, 'I want to buy your phone but $700 is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'," Chen said.

With big companies like Facebook and WhatsApp winding down app support for BlackBerry, it's best the company focuses all of its efforts on Android devices with enhanced security and enterprise features.

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