BlackBerry Officially Introduces the Z3

BlackBerry has officially introduced its new entry-level smartphone, the BlackBerry Z3. The phone is announced in Indonesia, one of its last few strongholds in the global market. Major carriers in the country have sold out pre-order units and this indicates the company’s strong influence. The Z3 is a touch-based device with 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-inch qHD display, 1.5GB of RAM, 1.1Mp front-facing camera, 5Mp rear-facing camera, 2500mAh battery and 8GB of internal storage. The Z3 is also preloaded with BlackBerry OS 10.

Even in Indonesia, BlackBerry’s market share has significantly dwindled and the Z3 is the company’s bid to regain its foothold. The BlackBerry Z10 has been less than successful since it is deemed as to expensive for many local customers. As the result, they switched to cheaper Android devices and installed BBM app. The Z3 is a Foxconn-built model and it should perform reasonably well for its affordable pricing. The phone will be available for $190 or Rp 2.2 million through multiple local partners.

The BlackBerry Z3 is one of John Chen’s first devices and it has rather low pricing, compared to the company’s earlier models. There’s no confirmation whether the phone will be soon available in other countries, but the BlackBerry Z3 could also find success in other emerging markets, such as India.