BlackBerry has launched a new mid-tier smartphone, with the classical BlackBerry keyboard, targeting consumers from emerging markets. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company also said its BBM messenger service will be offered on iOS and Android devices.
The BlackBerry Live conference was kicked off on Tuesday with the launch of BlackBerry Q5, which is slated to ship in summer in the emerging markets, in several colors including pink, red and white. It is the third smartphone from BlackBerry, which will run on the BlackBerry 10 operating system. The new phone has a 3.1-inch touch screen with a QWERTY keyboard, and looks almost the same as the BlackBerry Q10.
In addition to the new phone, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also announced the release of BlackBerry 10.1, the update to its latest smartphone operating system, for existing Z10 phones. Heins also said US carriers will start selling Q10 in early June. Q10 is already available in Canada and several other countries.
BlackBerry expects its new devices powered by its new BB10 OS to boost its revenues and bring it back in black. BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion, once had been the dominant force in the smartphone industry, but lost its position to Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy series phones running on Google's Android platform.
In a surprise move, Heins also said its BBM messenger service will go cross-platform to iOS and Android devices. He said BBM would be available for free download this summer on iPhone and Android devices, if approved by Google Play store and Apple's App store.
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