As per media reports BlackBerry Limited (BBRY), has reported strong sales for its newly launched Z10 smartphones in the UK and Canada, two of its most important markets. The shareholders reacted strongly to the news as the stock price surged by almost 7%, at the close of trading on Tuesday.
Notably, after several launch delays the company finally launched its much hyped BB10 operating system-based smartphones on Jan 31, 2012, being developed on its QNX software, which is compatible with various open-source coding languages. The smartphone was launched in UK on Feb 1, while the Canadian customer got a taste of the new handset on Feb 5.
The Canadian handset manufacturer has seen strong sales, which is almost three times better than the first week sales of BlackBerry device ever. Similarly, in Canada the company received record pre orders for its latest touch screen version Z10 and is 50% more than any other BlackBerry launch day sales. The actual sales figure, however, is yet to be revealed.
Blackberry devices are being sold in different locations in Canada by the three large telecom carriers, namely, Bell Canada, Telus and Rogers. The company got a boost from these carrier partners as they reported strong interest from users currently using an iPhone or an Android-based device.
Blackberry, once the global leader of smartphones has been struggling since the last 3-4 years, as they failed to identify consumers’ preferences and has been battling in a crowded smartphone market mainly dominated by Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iOS and Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android platform.
Significantly, Nokia Corporation (NOK) faced a supply shortage in the US when it launched its flagship Lumia 920 and was even sold out in some of the countries. Apple, which is the most valuable technology company also performed well and sold 5 million handsets in the first thee days of its launch in the US.
The company has preloaded the smartphones with some of the most unique features in the industry, which is suitable for supporting different customer preferences and is betting on its new platform, to turn the tables in their favor. We believe the company has made a good start, but winning back old customers from other smartphone rivals still remain the biggest challenge for BlackBerry.
On the downside, however, the company has postponed the launch of its QRT-based handsets in the US until May, due to some network related issues. It remains to be seen how the company performs when the touch screen version comes up for sale next month in the lucrative US market.
BlackBerry currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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