(Photo Credit: Maurizio Pesce)

Last week was hectic at BlackBerry BBRY. On Wednesday the once prominent smartphone maker revealed its latest handset device, the Passport. Then on Friday BlackBerry announced earnings, reporting a huge reduction in its quarterly loss, but the period was also lackluster on sales.

BlackBerry’s new phone (pictured above) is an odd departure from devices put out by rivals. The square screened handset features a physical keyboard, a throwback to previous generations of smartphones, but a feature not all that unusual for a BlackBerry. The phone got its name because it is about the same size as a state issued travel passport, about twice the width of an iPhone 5.

With the Passport BlackBerry will continue focusing on its enterprise customers, and those consumers who prefer a physical keyboard on their phone. CEO John Chen was brought in last November to turn the company around. He admitted that the Passport is the company’s last ditch effort to save its iconic handset business. He said, “We will make money on the handset — if we don’t, we’ll have to get out.”

John Chen has made it clear that BlackBerry’s future lies in providing mobile device management and data security to enterprise clients such as corporations and governments. The new BlackBerry Blend feature was one major step in the right direction. Blend allows users to connect their BlackBerry device to a personal computer, allowing a seamless transition of the user’s interface regardless of operating system differences. In a nutshell, you can type emails to be sent from your Passport using your computer. This feature is especially important in the modern corporate ecosystem where companies need to bridge the gap between the many devices their employees use for work.  

One other feature of note is an Android operating system simulator. The Passport can use the Android emulator to run most apps designed for Android, giving way more optionally to the Passport.

Friday morning BlackBerry announced earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2015. BlackBerry trimmed its quarterly loss to just 2 cents per share, beating buy side and independent contributing analysts on Estimize who had forecast a loss of 13 cents per share. Since John Chen stepped in as Chief Executive BlackBerry has strung together 3 consecutive quarters of smaller deficits than analysts had anticipated. This quarter BlackBerry cut its loss by 96% compared to the same quarter of one year prior.

BlackBerry came close to the breakeven point this quarter and initial sales of the Passport appear to be favorable. BlackBerry has sold over 200,000 Passports since they became available on Wednesday. That’s nothing compared to the 4 million iPhone 6s and 6+s sold by Apple in their first 24 hours on sale, but for BlackBerry this is an exciting start. The Passport sold out on BlackBerry’s website within its first 6 hours on the store, and Amazon.com ran out of supply 4 hours later.

In the past it may have been fair to compare sales figures between BlackBerry and Apple, but that’s certainly not the case anymore. BlackBerry is a shard of what it once was, targeting only enterprise customers with high security needs. On the other hand Apple is trying to get an iPhone in the hands of every man, woman, and child on planet Earth.

BlackBerry is focusing on the enterprise market, but it’s certainly not a safe haven for them to hide in. All too familiar rivals Apple, IBM, and Microsoft are all gunning for a larger piece of that pie. Apple and IBM recently teamed up to bring IBM’s enterprise software to iOS devices. And Microsoft recently announced a deal with Apple to bring its Office productivity suite to Apple devices, going after the same multi-device connectivity need that BlackBerry Blend is looking to fill.

Early next year we will look back at the Passport as either the last hurrah of BlackBerry’s handset business, or as its savior. Contributing analysts on Estimize are not expecting the company to have a profitable quarter anytime within the next 6 months, but with the Passport’s strong debut, who know’s what is possible.

Going forward there’s plenty of uncertainty on BlackBerry’s two major fronts. The company’s handset business could be on the verge of failure, and other tech giants are eyeing BlackBerry’s niche in Enterprise multi-device connectivity and data security. A few bullish analysts on Estimize expect the company to post a profit next quarter, while the most bearish analysts are predicting a sharp downturn on the bottom line. The average contributor see’s BlackBerry cutting loses from 67 cents per share in the third quarter of last year to just 14 cents this period. That would be progress, but John Chen’s mission won’t be considered a success until BlackBerry starts making money again.