Remember BlackBerry? Now They Work in the Auto Industry
Alex Reale
· 3 min read
Before the ubiquitous iPhone, we lived in a world of BlackBerry. Everyone from teenagers to businesspeople was scrolling away on a trackball, sending emails, and playing Brick Breaker.
Then, as Adam Grant tells it in his book Think Again, BlackBerry’s creator made a costly mistake: he assumed that people would want a phone that basically just did calls, messaging, and email.
Steve Jobs was well-positioned to lift the beloved smartphone mantle from his shoulders, and BlackBerry phones began to take on an outdated feel. Things didn’t look good for the former behemoth.
A transition for BlackBerry
After the dust settled, this former phone company did a major pivot. The smartphone market cornered, BlackBerry moved instead toward intelligent security. Now, BlackBerry uses AI and machine learning to identify and protect against cybersecurity threats. They advertise their suite of products for use across a variety of industries, including the automotive industry.
Automotive is an evolving space for cybersecurity. As cars become increasingly software-focused, and more driver and car data are tracked, companies that make these digital products are looking for secure ways to keep doing business. BlackBerry’s QNX software is their automotive cybersecurity offering.
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Yahoo! Finance
reported that BlackBerry will be collaborating with Visteon Corporation to help improve digital car tech. Visteon’s cockpit electronics will be augmented by BlackBerry’s QNX Platform for Instrument Clusters. Visteon intends to build its next suite of cockpit products using QNX software, which will help support and protect the increasingly digital experience of driving.The overall theme of the collaboration is connection: Visteon hopes to implement BlackBerry’s QNX in such a way that the cockpit experience is seamless, even predictive.
BlackBerry will help make sure things like over-the-air updates, autonomous tech, and infotainment systems are secure using QNX software. According to Yahoo! Finance, Senior Vice President of Visteon Bob Vallance calls this a strategy to provide “future-proof cybersecurity solutions.” This should make the cockpit experience accessible and safe from possible cyberattacks.
BlackBerry has an eye on the future
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This partnership, though future-focused in its concerns and expectations, has roots in the past. Visteon used BlackBerry QNX software in 2017 in a deal it won with a Chinese OEM. A successful collaboration in the past may bode well for their current plans. Perhaps BlackBerry has found its new Brick Breaker.
As automotive technology becomes more advanced, companies that build digital cockpits are looking for ways to make the experience smoother and safer for drivers. It can get overwhelming as vehicles keep evolving. If you’re looking for something simpler for your car insurance, try
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