NOK Nokia Corp

Canadian handset manufacturer BlackBerry Limited (BBRY) plans to launch budget friendly full-touch Z3 smartphone in April, this year. The BB10-based smartphone is the first outcome of the BlackBerry and Foxconn partnership. The 3G device will initially be introduced in Indonesia and will later be launched in other countries, integrated with 4GLTE technology.

In Dec 2013, BlackBerry entered into a 5-year agreement with the world's leading developer of electronic products and components, Foxconn. This strategic collaboration has helped BlackBerry target the smartphone markets of emerging nations like Indonesia. Foxconn will supply inventories for the smartphones.

The 5-inch smartphone features the popular BlackBerry Hub for BBM messages and emails, HTML5 browser and an inbuilt radio FM. The handset will be priced below $200, keeping in mind the price-sensitive customers in Indonesia and other emerging nations.

In 2011, BlackBerry had a 43% market share in Indonesia. However, stiff competition from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and other low-cost Google Inc. (GOOG) smartphones have significantly slashed BlackBerry’s market share. Consequently, at the end of 2013, BlackBerry held a mere 14% market share.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2014, BlackBerry sold 4.3 million smartphones. At present, the company is writing down its unsold inventories and has incurred an operating loss of nearly $5 billion.

Hence, to gain competitive advantage in terms of producing affordable handsets, BlackBerry has teamed up with Foxconn.

BlackBerry currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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