BlackBerry has moved to calm consumer fears that the company is on the brink of extinction by issuing a public letter focused around one key takeaway: BlackBerry isn't dead yet.

In the letter, BlackBerry acknowledges that the company faces "challenging times", with the firm in the process of being sold off to its largest shareholder thanks to its rapidly declining market share.

However, the firm also notes that it is "debt free" and has "substantial cash on hand" to see it through.

Future focus

"You've no doubt seen the headlines about BlackBerry," opens the letter.

"You're probably wondering what they mean for you as one of the tens of millions of users who count on BlackBerry every single day. We have one important message for you: You can continue to count on BlackBerry."

In the letter, BlackBerry makes reference to its planned restructuring, with the company looking to pull away from chasing iOS and Android's tail, instead focusing on enterprise, all leading to a "goal to cut our expenses by 50 percent."

Indeed, as a result, the customers BlackBerry is reaching out to are unlikely to be gamers, with the company essentially pulling out of the mobile games race wholesale.

"These are no doubt challenging times for us and we don't underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges," the letter continues.

"We are making the difficult changes necessary to strengthen BlackBerry. One thing we will never change is our commitment to those of you who helped build BlackBerry into the most trusted tool for the world's business professional."

Love from Lenovo

While there's little danger of the company disappearing off the face of the earth anytime soon, the company's longterm future as a consumer brand is somewhat less certain.

Commentators still believe its planned sale – for $4.7 billion to Fairfax – is designed to buy the company time and hand it a solid value it can then tout to longterm suitors.

Speculation had previously suggested that Chinese tech giant Lenovo was a likely buyer, though there's been little movement out in the open.

September saw BlackBerry post a quarterly loss of $965 million, with CEO Thorsten Heins claiming the company was "very disappointed with our operational and financial results this quarter."

"We understand how some of the activities we are going through create uncertainty, but we remain a financially strong company with $2.6 billion in cash and no debt," he added.

"We are focused on our targeted markets, and are committed to completing our transition quickly in order to establish a more focused and efficient company."

[source: The Globe and Mail]