BlackBerry's CEO has a message for Facebook or any other company looking to spend $19 billion on a mobile messaging app: He would take that deal for its BBM messaging service.
"I work for the shareholder," John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, said in an interview with CNBC from Mobile World Congress on Tuesday. "If somebody comes to me with $19 billion, I would definitely sell it. I would recommend to the board to take it."
See also: Facebook Snaps Up WhatsApp, But What About Snapchat?
Chen reiterated his willingness to sell off BBM for the right price in a separate interview Tuesday with Bloomberg, but added, "it is a bit too early to think about getting our $19 billion.”
Facebook announced last week that it had agreed to acquired WhatsApp, the world's most popular mobile messaging service, for $16 billion in stock and cash, with another $3 billion in restricted stock units thrown in for employee retention.
The huge sum shocked many inside and outside the tech industry, and reignited investor interest in other mobile messaging apps, including BBM. BlackBerry stock jumped 4% after the WhatsApp deal was announced.
BBM has long been a popular feature among BlackBerry users. In late October, the company released a BBM app for iPhone and Android phones, which was quickly downloaded millions of times, suggesting broader demand for the service.
That said, BBM is significantly smaller than WhatsApp and other competitors. Chen says BBM has about 85 million monthly active users; WhatsApp has 465 million.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5, which sports a fingerprint scanner and water-resistant casing.
In addition to the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo, Samsung unveiled the Gear Fit. The company's third wearable of Mobile World Congress is lighter than its companions and sports a 1.84 AMOLED curved touchscreen with a 432x128 pixel resolution.
Mark Zuckerberg spoke on the future of WhatsApp and Facebook's plans for Internet.org at the Mobile World Congress Keynote.
Asked about future plans to pursue Snapchat,> Zuckerberg joked that he was done purchasing companies for a while.
The dual-screen YotaPhone features a rear-facing e-ink display in addition to the main LCD.
Nokia unveiled the newest addition to its Asha line, the 230. This tiny budget Windows phone updates both the Asha line's hardware and software.
Nymi is a wearable bracelet that reads the user's heart rate to authenticate identity.
Samsung's new smartwatch drops the "Galaxy" moniker in favor of some added features: a heart-rate sensor and an IR blaster to control your TV among others.
Originally unveiled at CES 2014, Sony's SmartBand SWR10 features Lifelog, a 24 hour comprehensive tracking system.
ZTE introduced a line of Firefox smartphones, including the Open C.
ZTE introduced a flagship smartphone, the Grand Memo II.
Alcatel introduced the One Touch Idol 2, an Android 4.3 (Kit Kat) smartphone with a 5-inch display.
Alcatel introduced the Idol 2 mini in a range of bright colors.
LG introduced the G Pro 2 on Sunday, a device designed to give phablet lovers a significant performance upgrade. Complete with a 5.9-inch HD IPS display and a 13-megapixel camera with OIS+ (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) it is powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and comes in Silver, White and Titan.
LG also introduced the G2 mini, a device the company is calling its first "compact smartphone." The screen measures just 4.7 inches and comes with either a 1.7GHz or 1.2GHz quad-core processor and a 13-megapixel or 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting 4K video.
Nokia unveiled the Nokia X, a budget-model Android phone priced at 89 euros (roughly $120).
Sony unveiled the Xperia Z2, the company's new flagship smartphone, a mere four months after introducing Xperia Z1 and one year after launching the first phone in the series, the Xperia Z.
Sony also decided to upgrade its mid-range smartphone offering with the Xperia M2.
Sony introduced the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet with an ultra-thin, waterproof case.
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