BlackBerry aims to target the budget segment with the new full touch Z3 smartphone.
Back at the Mobile World Congress 2014, BlackBerry had announced it would be launching a new touch smartphone – Z3 – this year. And now, the company has revealed a Jakarta Edition of the Z3, which will go on sale starting May 15 with a price tag of $191 (Rs. 11,400 approximately).
BlackBerry says the Z3 has been built “exclusively” for Indonesia with a special focus on communication. According to specifications listed on GSMArena, the BlackBerry Z3 features a 5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution. The smartphone runs BlackBerry 10.2.1 OS and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon 400 processor along with 1.5GB of RAM.
The Z3 comes with 8GB of built-in storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD. The smartphone sports a 5MP rear camera and 1.1MP secondary camera. For connectivity, the BlackBerry Z3 GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, NFC and microUSB 2.0. A 2,500 mAh battery powers the device.
“From conception to delivery, the BlackBerry Z3 Jakarta Edition was designed specifically with out Indonesian customers in mind,” BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen is quoted as saying. The device lets users to type in Bahasa and features a special set of BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM Stickers featuring local characters.
With declining share in the global smartphone market, BlackBerry has been struggling to maintain its hold in emerging markets. Almost two years ago, BlackBerry dominated the Indonesian market with a share of about 40 percent. Now, the share has shrunk to 4 percent, while the market is currently dominated by Samsung.
There are high chances that BlackBerry will be launching the Z3 in the Indian market soon. However, the smartphone will be facing a stiff competition from the likes of Moto G, Nokia Lumia 630 and a range of other Android smartphones below Rs. 15,000.
Also read: MWC 2014: BlackBerry launches two new smartphones running Blackberry 10.2 OS
Do you think the Z30 will help BlackBerry increase share in the budget smartphone segment? Let us know your views in the comments section below: