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LAS VEGAS — AT&T has not abandoned BlackBerry.
In fact, the Dallas telecom giant continues to lend its help to the struggling company, which is in the middle of transforming itself into
a more business-focused company.
“We’re supporting their efforts to continue being a viable supplier,” said Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T’s mobility business, in an
interview with CNET.
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AT&T continues to work with BlackBerry, and de la Vega said he was meeting with BlackBerry interim CEO John Chen while in town during the Consumer Electronics Show.
“I think John has a good plan,” de la Vega said.
BlackBerry holds its own press conference tomorrow morning. Check back in with CNET for the full coverage.
BlackBerry has said it would retreat from the consumer market, which many took to mean that it wouldn’t make any new devices.
Indeed, its last device, the jumbo BlackBerry Z30, was sold through Verizon Wireless, and was only offered online in a tepid showing of
enthusiasm from the carrier.
But BlackBerry on Monday tapped Ron Louks, a former executive for HTC and Sony Ericsson, to be its new devices head, signaling a willingness to proceed with building and selling mobile devices. Chen has made several overtures to the public to keep the faith with BlackBerry, touting its still strong presence in business.
De la Vega said he has been a supporter of BlackBerry since day one, and noted that some customers are still loyal to the brand and its
trademark physical keyboard.
He wouldn’t comment on whether BlackBerry was making another device, saying that was for BlackBerry to talk about.
De la Vega also weighed in on another changing partnership in Nokia, which is poised to complete the sale of its devices business to
Microsoft.
He sees the deal as a positive, noting that Microsoft can be more efficient with its marketing with the Nokia business in the fold.
“It’s good for us, good for them, and good for the consumer,” he said.
De la Vega said he would continue to give the Microsoft business the same kind of support as past campaigns for Nokia.
