The new handset, which will be available from the
weekend, builds on the success of the BlackBerry 7 OS, BlackBerry India product
management head Advait Vaidya said.
From being amongst the top three smartphone players in
India some time ago, BlackBerry's market share has now tanked even below that
of the Apple, a later entrant, and the smaller Indian companies which sell
cheap Chinese-made handsets.
In terms of revenue too, BlackBerry, which was among
the top three, has slipped to seventh spot in the country, as per CyberMedia
Research.
In FY12, BlackBerry ranked below not just Samsung,
Nokia and Micromax, but also Apple and HTC, in terms of revenue.
According to the report, BlackBerry had 3.1 % market
share -- down from over 15 % in the previous years -- of the Rs. 31,330-crore
handset market in the country.
Fitted with the new operating system 7.1, the device
features a Qwerty keyboard, 2.8-inch touchscreen and track-pad for navigation,
5 megapixel camera, FM radio and new feature BBM Voice, which lets users chat
over Wi-Fi for free.
Asked why BlackBerry is launching an OS7 powered device
when it already has handsets powered by an advanced operating system, Vaidya
said the company wants to offer devices across platforms and price points.
"We have a huge Qwerty-installed base and people
want handsets across price points. This new device gives them better OS (than
existing models like Curve) at affordable prices," he said.
Earlier this year, BlackBerry had launched its BB10
operating system and unveiled two devices -- Z10 and Q5.
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