14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry is set to make a new smartphone official as soon as next month during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, none other than BlackBerry Jakarta, which is developed in collaboration with Foxconn.
Terry Gou, chairman of the Taiwanese manufacturer, has officially confirmed plans on the matter, while also saying that other devices will also be showcased at the event, FocusTaiwan reports.
"We are working with them to design a new device, and we will showcase multiple devices at the trade show in Barcelona in February," Terry Gou reportedly said.
He also noted that the BlackBerry 10 operating system was a great platform with excellent security features, despite the fact that the Canadian vendor is lacking a strong manufacturing capability.
Back in December 2013, the two companies announced a five-year partnership aimed at the building of BlackBerry smartphones. They also unveiled that the first handset in the series would arrive this year under the codename of Jakarta.
No specific info on other devices being developed as part of the partnership has been provided, or on the number of smartphones that the two plan on releasing.
What has been announced, however, is that Jakarta will be aimed mainly at emerging markets, with Indonesia being the first to receive it. However, the handset will be launched in other countries as well, including Mexico.
BlackBerry has been losing a lot of market share over the past few years, and Jakarta, along with other devices aimed at the entry-level segment, should help it regain its foothold.
These devices will still run under the BlackBerry 10 operating system, though specific info on their hardware capabilities has yet to be unveiled.
With MWC 2014 set to kick off in less than a month, specifics on the matter will be available soon, so keep an eye on this space to learn the news.