what is the myth of john chen? and what is the reality? actually think i'm a pretty simple, straightforward guy. i like working with people. i like focusing on objectives and results. most people ask me, why are you doing this? the company is already dead. to me, it is just, i am just trying to take one step at a time and do better every day. eventually, we will break through. i am more relaxed than most people think. emily: people are telling you that blackberry is already dead. john: yes. emily: why did you take this job? john: that is a great question. i think i flunked retirement. [laughter] that is probably the real -- there is a bunch of reasons. i could give you this reason about it being iconic in the industry, and it's a great company that has a lot of technology with a lot of potential. all of that is true. but that does not automatically answer the question about why i am doing it. i started as being the chairman of the company. i was going to find the management team and formulate a strategy. i thought i was a little too old to

>> i think it just shows how many balls john chen has in the air that he is trying to juggle.nds investors that hardware is still an important part of the company. cory johnson: the cofounder of lyft is still with us. do you have a question? >> what is the current market share for blackberry? >> it is under 1%. .5%-.6% depending on who you ask. they would say that is a focused market. obviously, there are regulated industries and government departments that still require a handset. that makes sense but why another touchscreen, why a slider phone? john chen would answer and say there are still people in those industries that don't want a keyboard. the other point we want to be sure to make is they didn't say we want to lx number of phones. they -- sell x number of phones. it might be the case that they are only going to sell several hundred thousand of these loans, but that might be enough to keep the revenue going while they make this transition. cory johnson: a 29% market share down to less than 1%. how do you john, monitor these things, trying to figure out where you are goi

john chen: i want to make sure that everything is agnostic.you look at blackberry, it is nitched. it is limited. i want to be able to serve in a higher spectrum. cory: a cheaper phone. you know, i like john chen a lot personally, and it seems like they have got a better direction. going cheap and going broad. crawford: again, i would argue that his first sentence is the one i agree with the most which is transitioning into a software and services company. when you look at the devices they are trying to go low end, trying to attract new users, but i think you give the people what they want. they have loyal base of customers. and more secure messaging, for example. cory: idc chief research officer crawford del prete. one of the phones introduced was the zte grand 3. forget thumbprints. the grand 3 can see the whites of your eyes to verify your identity. i spoke about the technology with eyeverify ceo toby rush. toby rush: simply looking at your device we are able to use this selfie camera to look at the whites of your eye, and transform that int

john chen is with us in just a moment. >>> plus, yahoo!nnouncing a new share buyback boosting yahoo! shares. but what does that mean for activists in the stock and for the ceo marissa mayer? >>> and hulk hogan comes to "squawk alley" later in the hour ahead of wrestlemania taking part this weekend. markets are near session highs. we'll be back in a minute. t. sometimes romantic. there were tears in my eyes. and tears in my eyes. and so many little things that we learned were really the biggest things. through it all, we saved and had a retirement plan. and someone who listened and helped us along the way. because we always knew that someday the future would be the present. every someday needs a plan. talk with us about your retirement today. now with the you can watch live tv anytime. it's never been easier with so many networks all in one place. get live tv whenever you want. the xfinity tv go app. now with live tv on the go. enjoy over wifi or on verizon wireless 4g lte. plus enjoy special savings when you purchase any new verizon wirele

they are able to reach these low-end -- >> john chen trying to find a way in there in between android and iphone -- here's what he had to say at the world conference. >> i am determined to him make software as a business. it's a little different from the past. i will also make sure everything is agnostic. it is mitch, limited, so i want to serve 100% of the market. cory: it is a cheaper phone, i like john chen a lot personally and it seems like a better direction, but this is back to the direction of going cheap and broad, which is what they said they were going to get away from. >> yes. again, i would argue his first sentence is the one i agree with most. transitioning into a software and service company. they are trying to go low-end and attract new users, but i think ultimately, you give the people what you want. you really want to focus on those users and retaining them and attracting other users perhaps on the android or ios platform, with things like more security, for example. cory: one thing we might see is an old company doing something anyway from the conference. >> i think

my guest is today on "studio 1.0" is blackberry ceo john chen.ning us. john: thank you for having me. emily: even

tell us more about this release i'm here with john chen. you announced the leap. you also talked a lot about software which you're staking your future on. let's start with the hardware. we heard a lot about low end hardware. sub $200. lots of downward pressure there. as you as confidence in the hardware business and your restructuring of the risk of that as you have been in the past given the downward pressure? how does that fit into that? >> it's the mid range product. it's retail for 275. so it's not low end and it's not high end. i think the high low, end, and mid range are all moving together. we have a lot of innovation coming in the hardware side and we show a couple of conceptual ideas. so i'm really hopeful our business will do well. in the last couple of quarters our business actually makes money. that was the big thing for me. we have good logistic. good factory arrangement. so i think we have a good handle on it. >> tim long over at bmo, an analyst, said to reach your software goals for 2016 you need to take 7.5 million mobile device management customer

blackberry ceo john chen has spent more than 30 years working in enterprise technology.software maker sybase from the verge of death to $5.8 billion powerhouse. now he has taken on what some say is an impossible job leading blackberry's comeback. can he prove them wrong? and just how did he become the tech industry's fixer? my guest is today on "studio 1.0" is blackberry ceo john chen. john, thank you so much for

i like john chen, it seems like they have a better direction. this is back in the direction of going cheap and broad, they said they were going to get away from that. >> i would argue his first ends as the one i agree with the most, transitioning into software and services. when you look at the devices they are bringing out, you are trying to go low-end and attract new users. it's admirable, but give the people what they want. they have a loyal base of customers. they want keyboard-based devices. you want to focus on those users and retaining them. and then attracting other users perhaps on the android platform or ios with your services. more secure messaging, for example. >> is there anything emerging that you saw coming out of mobile that might be a new company or an old company find anyway? -- a new way? >> wearables with the most efficient thing. i think give it a shot with wearable devices. i would like to congratulate samsung. whether they are doing, and what they are doing in payments -- really trying to bring out a service that could be

brad stone will be talking to john chen. he will join us from the mobile world.is "bloomberg surveillance." ♪ tom: good morning. ukraine raises interest rate. and ever weaker euro. let's get to our top headlines. olivia: benjamin netanyahu will show why he fears negotiations will lead to iran getting a nuclear bomb. the white house was never consulted. netanyahu rejected claims he is making a shaky relationship with president obama even worse. >> my speech is not intended to show disrespect to president obama or the office he holds. i have great respect for both. olivia: president obama says while he has problems with the president they are not personal. benchmarks are setting new records. the nasdaq closed over 5000 for the first time in over 15 years. dow jones industrials hit all-time highs. one reason the fed will raise interest rates soon. >> potential bubbles and stock markets and i think the fed is willing to acknowledge that by raising interest rates 25 basis points in june. olivia: traders say there is a chance the fed will raise rates by june. google ha

betty: john chen is speaking right now and they have this call going on. yes saying that the early reports of classic sales are promising. that is one headline coming up. also, many resellers are picking up their software products. talk to me john about distribution. john: distribution is key for headsets because you are selling them through retail. it is very tough to sell a handset over the web here in the u.s.. i do not know why. john chen said that because we cannot get online sales going. it really is about point of sale. it is a high touch business, i think. people really want to touch and feel and learn about it from a salesperson. betty: particularly the blackberries. john: getting that distribution is absolutely key. the more you sell, the better off you are. betty: thank you for seeing me this morning. john butler on about -- blackberry. we speak to the ceo of convert text. they have just done a survey on attitudes toward street in practice. best speedy practice. and those attitudes are getting better. full details coming up next. ♪ betty: here i

you know, i like john chen a lot but it's back to the direction of going cheap and broad which they said they'd get away from. >> again, i would argue that his first sentence is the one i agree with the most which is transitioning into a software and services company. when you look at the devices they're trying to go low end, trying to attract new users but i think you give the people what you want. they have loyal base of customers. they want keyboard based devices. and i think you want to focus on those users and retaining them and attracting other users that perhaps are on the android platform or i.o.s. platform with your services, more secure messaging, for example. >> research officer crawford. and one introduced was the grand 3 forget thumbprints, it can see the whites of your eyes to verify the technology. i talked with the eye verify c.e.o. toby rush. >> looking at the device you can use the selfie camera to look at blood vessels in the whites of the eye, the eye print, and transform that to a key that logs you into your phone and applications, making your life more convenient an

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goldman notes the shares are up about 60% since john chen took over back in november 2013. it's now in a situation where losses will widen in the years ahead. and amazon also falling today after sun trust downgraded the stock to neutral. they say amazon has moved past its target price and may have more difficulty in the future. >> yeah and spring forward isn't just a reminder that daylight savings time is here. we could be hearing a lot more about the apple watch today, you think? he was the first venture investor in paypal and among others. john, thanks for joining us. when the first iphone came out, the game developers that got on board made a whole lot of money. in the companies that you work with, are developers working hard with the apple watch hoping for the same kind of effect? >> i think -- that's a great point. in the beginning when it's sort of a green field opportunity, the early developer who hits it with something that defines the basic use case or the primary use cases for the device, they're the ones who make all the gains. it's a tradeoff. you're looking at

brad stone will be talking to john chen of blackberry. >> looking forward to it.et's get to our top photos. number three, notre dame has earned its 10th hockey east wing of the season. notre dame 13-1. why does this matter -- won 3-1. >> it was stunning to see this kid stop -- >> this was off the chart. >> 55 saves in a game. >> 15 more than normal. young kid playing out of his -- >> 15 more than a normal good game. >> this kid stop 55 shots. he blew me away. >> speaking of new york, the hudson river has frozen over. february ranks as the fourth coldest on record. the average temperature last month was 23.9 degrees fahrenheit the coldest ever february was in 1994 when the temperature. patches of ice across the whole river from new york to new jersey. >> very cool. >> at the international space station, derry wilmore taking a selfie -- barry wilmore taking a selfie. the international space station is preparing for the arrival of commercial vehicles from space-x. temperatures can plummet to -200 degrees outside the station. did have to take off the gloves? >> do we

i do not think it will be nearly as indestructible, john chen, blackberry ceo.latest devices. pretty sure you cannot drive over them. looking at what they have got on the market. the key one to turn into 1:45 gmt. tom wheeler, the head of the u.s. regularly fcc. thtalking about regulation. in response to mark zuckerberg dodging whether or not big internet companies like facebook and google should be under the same microscopic regulations as telecom operators. a chat with tom wheeler 1:45 gmt. francine: you spoke exclusively to the orange ceo. what did he say about the company's interest in telecom italia? caroline: he really did try to push back any of that furor around telecom italia. he set the record straight exclusively with us. have a listen. mr. richard: we are not in talks with telecom italia. i tried to explain this very clearly yesterday. among all the ceos of european telcos we meet regularly. we exchanged our views on the situation in europe. everyone knows that there is a need for consolidation, for convergence and consolidation. and that -- caroline

i always thought john chen did a good job of saying if you can't be with the one you love hardware, love are with software. howard: you were not just getting beat up by apple, you're getting beat up by droid. it is number three, and in china you have one that is going to give apple and android themselves a run for their money. there is great talent in bloomberg -- brendan: you mean blackberry, not bloomberg. howard: did i say bloomberg? brendan: just want to make sure everyone knows, bloomberg is fine. tom: four children sa -- part chilton sat here. the first blackberry fancy phone i have seen in six months. are they in the phone business still? howard: i really can't tell. brendan: we will talk about talks in the samsung headquarters and in switzerland. are leaders on the verge of a deal? we go live back to switzerland. ♪ tom: we have traditional technology on the roof of our skyscraper. stormy morning in new york. stormy morning of innovation. howard lindzon and i on dueling periscopes. howard: 64 people. tom: howard has totally hit twitter -- there are seven deadbeats watching mine. b

we also talked today to blackberry ceo john chen. blackberry is moving away from the iconic keyboard the . they introduced a touch screen. they also will try to say themselves. stephanie: that is brad stone. you know how i feel about the blackberry. i have some true feelings of affection. we will be checking in with you later, brad. erik: when we come back, is it time to rein in the fed with more supervision? some in congress think so. we will bring you their debate and hours. stephanie: the murder that had a chilling effect on vladimir putin's opponents. we will be speaking with gary kasparov. ♪ stephanie: welcome back. it is time now to bring you up-to-date on the top stories of the morning. the impact of the home insecurity funding could be over. speaker boehner has agreed to hold a vote today on a full year extension with absolutely no strings attached. his effort last week to pass a three-week extension failed one house conservatives rebelled against it. they want any funding bill to include language reversing president obama's

we're very positive on the new management, john chen who is reshaping this company to be an enterpriseany's networks. >> if the hardware is an afterthought, with the company have a higher valuation if it got rid of that hardware division and focused on software and become a software company and commanded software valuation? >> you may see that happening. you have already seen steps to reduce the dependency by working with partnerships to outsource a lot of the hardware development. now, the hardware phones are still going to be a stopgap over the next year as they build up the software revenue stream. they have a target of $500 million and they have a har get of $100 million for bbm. those are pretty lofty targets but this manage get has delivered. you have a $6 billion market cap with $3 billion in cap. >> how much value is there in qnix? it's in ford vehicles. >> it's really for the internet of things. the ford win is nice. we would call this the call option on the company. right now the focus should be on the services and on the software business and on bbn, and then if iot and the

chen, al jazeera, selma alabama. >> coming up we speak with congressman john lewis one of the leaders of the march he talks about hiscivil rights. next on a day when boko haram renews it's attack on nigeria, a bold pledge from that notorious group. >>> from hong kong they say they're not happy with vendors buying up their goods just to resell them in mainland china. >>> now three teens who left home to fight with isil now facing the parents. was right. >> that was then... what about now? >> i believe the zionists control the country. >> "talk to al jazeera". only on al jazeera america. >> the iraqi army now said to be making he had way in the battle for tikrit, they're talking isil positions on the outskirts that have city. isil seized control of tikrit last june. today u.s. general martin dempsey said that iraqi military will win that battle. we have more on the bulldozing of hatra. >> another ancient city destroyed, this one hatra 110 kilometers south of mow cull. and on the list of heritage sites, it was on that list because it was an unique confluence of greco roman and eastern influences. could you see that in