BlackBerry Ltd. said on Tuesday it will stop making its Classic model, raising further doubts about the future of the smartphone pioneer's money-losing handset business as the company shifts its focus to software.
BlackBerry's stock fell more than 4 percent after an executive confirmed the move in a blog post. BlackBerry launched the Classic less than two years ago, hoping it would resonate with customers yearning for a physical keyboard in a world of touchscreens.
"Clearly the Classic was not sufficiently retro-cool to attract new users," said John Jackson, a technology analyst at International Data Corp. "This marks the end of an era that actually ended several years ago for all but a very small number of devotees."