Going by the latest market buzz, Research In Motion Limited’s (BBRY) new BB10 operating system-based smartphone Z10, which made its U.S. debut last Friday, failed to generate strong response in the world’s second largest smartphone market.
Research In Motion started selling its new 4GLTE-based Z10 smartphones through the country’s second largest carrier, AT&T, Inc. (T) and will be available at largest carrier Verizon Wireless (VZ) from Mar 28.
The new Z10 was launched on Jan 30, 2013. Research in Motion has seen much improved demand for its flagship device in some of the markets including U.K., Canada and U.A.E. At present, Z10 is available in 25 countries. Recently, Research In Motion received a record single purchase order of one million handsets from a telecom partner.
Hence, it was anticipated that such a robust demand for the new device coupled with record order generation may lead to a huge appeal in the lucrative U.S. market. However, it failed to create such a strong response during the weekend.
Research In Motion, which once dominated the smartphone market, failed to upgrade its operating platform, losing market traction to Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iOS and Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android operating systems during the past few years, mostly in highly developed countries of North America and Europe.
In 2012, the company sold nearly 32.5 million smartphones as compared to Samsung Electronics’ 216 million and Apple Inc.’s 136 million handsets. At the end of 2012, BBRY had a mere 6.4% U.S. market share. Moreover, we believe that the launch of the new smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S4, in late April will further deteriorate BBRY’s market position, going forward.
So, it is to be seen whether Research In Motion, through its newly launched Z10, will be able to safeguard its fortune against other handset manufacturers in the upcoming days.
Currently, Research In Motion carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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