14 DAY TRIAL // One of the features that many BlackBerry enthusiasts love about their devices is the presence of a physical keyboard, something that the recently announced BlackBerry Jakarta won’t have.
For those out of the loop, we should note that this device is expected to become available in the coming months as the result of a partnership between BlackBerry and Foxconn, and that it should be a cheap smartphone.
BlackBerry’s new CEO John Chen has confirmed plans to launch this handset when announcing the company’s financial results last month, and he also said that the phone would help the company regain some of its foothold.
According to an article on BGR, however, the smartphone won’t arrive on shelves with a physical keyboard, one feature that enthusiasts would certainly like to see on the phone, especially in those emerging markets that it will be targeted at.
The handset will be based on the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which confirms the company’s departure from the older BlackBerry 7 OS, which still lives on legacy phones.
As BGR notes, one thing that is yet unknown when it comes to Jakarta, and which will be crucial to its success, is the price tag that BlackBerry will attach to it.
Considering the fact that Android and Windows Phone have already lowered the price bar below $100 (€73), BlackBerry might have the new device launched similarly, though there’s no confirmation on whether this will indeed happen.
Furthermore, with features such as BBM already available on other platforms out there, BlackBerry has little exclusive capabilities to offer when compared to Android, which means that it has to aim for a price war to make a stand.
BlackBerry Jakarta should be fully unveiled sometime in March this year, the Canadian mobile phone maker has announced. Info on the handset’s pricing might also emerge at that time, so stay tuned to learn additional details on the matter.