Phone design

Blackberry stops designing its own phones

Once a market leader, the company has struggled to keep pace with modern handsets produced by rivals such as Apple and Samsung.

In May, the company's chief executive, John Chen, said he would know by September whether the hardware business was likely to become profitable.

Now, Blackberry says it will outsource hardware development to partners.

But the company has not yet confirmed when any further Blackberry phones will be released.