Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Blackberry plans self-destructing phone

The smartphone maker partners with Boeing on an ultra-secure phone

The Canadian smartphone company Blackberry has partnered with Boeing to make a phone that can self-destruct if it gets into the wrong hands.

The phone is designed for people in the defense and security industries. Blackberry is hoping this emphasis on security will tap into a growth market and turn the company around. Aptly named the “Boeing Black,” any attempt to crack it open triggers a Mission Impossible-style deletion of data and renders the phone inoperable.

Apple and Samsung may rule the consumer-side of smartphones for some time, “…but on the business-side and the government-side, Blackberry is gold,” notes Jeff Kagan, a tech industry analyst based in Atlanta. He says smartphone security is growth industry, and it won’t be just the Boeings of the world, who want these added protections. 

Related Topics

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace
    an hour ago
    25:49
  • Make Me Smart
    3 hours ago
    24:16
  • Million Bazillion
    5 hours ago
    26:59
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    8 hours ago
    7:04
  • Marketplace Tech
    13 hours ago
    6:49
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    a month ago
    2:27
  • Financially Inclined
    2 months ago
    12:30
  • How We Survive
    2 months ago
    22:09
  • The Uncertain Hour
    4 months ago
    22:50
  • Corner Office from Marketplace
    5 years ago
    20:58