BlackBerry Z3 Budget Smartphone Tipped to Debut in India Next Week: Report

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is reportedly launching budget handset Z3 in India next week.

BlackBerry has begun sending out press invites to media houses for the launch event on 25 June. According to the invitation received, the company is launching next generation devices, reported PTI.

Many believe that the recently unveiled BlackBerry 10 OS-based Z3 is most likely to be star attraction of the event next week. Popular print media house The Indian Express, independently citing its own sources, too supports the same theory and also claims that the new phone would be priced under ₹11,000.

BlackBerry Z3 is the first smartphone to come out of the partnership between BlackBerry and Chinese OEM (Original Equipment manufacturer) partner Foxconn, which is popularly known for its relationship with Apple Inc.

It sports a 5.0-inch qHD (960x540p) and ships with the newly updated OS (v10.2.2) powered by a 1.2GHz snapdragon dual-core processor with sumptuous 1.5GB RAM and 8GB inbuilt storage (expandable up to 32GB), and is aptly backed by a 2500 mAh battery (non-removable), which can run the device for up to 15.5 hours and close to 16 days under standby mode.

The budget smartphone also houses a 5.0-megapixel camera (with flash, 5x digital zoom, image stabilization, and full HD video recording ability) and a 1.1-megapixel fixed-focus front camera. It also boasts on-screen LED indicator, a proprietary BlackBerry^® Balance™ technology which enables the user to have dedicated profiles to keep work and personal data separate and secure.

Lately, Indian budget smartphone market is witnessing a surge in number of handset launches by local and MNC brands over last one month, especially after the Moto E made its debut in mid-May. Boasting value-added features such as Gorilla Glass 3 shield, water-resistant coating on the display, Motorola phone raised the bar in terms of quality of cheap devices - a market which until then was ruled by local vendors who offered devices with sub-par features.

So far, more than five Android KitKat OS powered low-cost devices have hit the market since the launch of Moto E on 14 May - three (Unite 2 , Canvas Engage A019 and Canvas A105) from domestic leader Micromax, one each from sister firms Lava (Iris X1) and Xolo (Q600s), while Celkon Campus A35K just got released last week. It is touted as the cheapest KitKat OS based smartphone in India.

Now with the entry of BlackBerry, the competition is expected become intense in the coming days.

Key specifications of BlackBerry Z3:

[Image credit: BlackBerry]