ITB BLOG

BlackBerry announces Q5 for emerging markets

One of the key takeaways from this morning’s Opening Keynote in Orlando is that BlackBerry is intending to fire on all cylinders moving forward.

BlackBerry is not just a smartphone company. They are positioning themselves as a “mobile” company first. Which means consumers (enterprise and the individual) around the world can expect to see BlackBerry not just in their phones. Cars, other smartphones, at work and in industries such as healthcare and education.

Fifteen minutes into his keynote at BlackBerry Live in Orlando, CEO and President Thorsten Heins tipped his hand on one of the pillars of the future of BlackBerry’s consumer business: Emerging markets.

With the unveiling of the new BlackBerry Q5 (running on the BlackBerry 10 platform) BlackBerry has put it’s future not in the developed world but in the developing world.

“BlackBerry is excited to bring a new BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone, the BlackBerry Q5, to our customers in selected markets around world,” said Heins, . “The BlackBerry Q5 gives you the best of everything with its cutting-edge BlackBerry 10 functionality and a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is for youthful fans that are passionate, confident and bold, and it makes it easy for them to have fun, create, share and stay connected.”

The Q5 smartphone will feature all of the highlights of the BlackBerry 10 experience but will be a more affordable low-cost device featuring BlackBerry’s historical signature QWERTY keyboard.

Although Heins mentions selected markets, don’t be fooled. These selected markets will specifically focus on emerging markets. Later this summer expect to see the Q5 introduced in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Karim Kanji
Karim Kanjihttp://karimkanji.com
Karim Kanji is the Canadian Director of Social Media Strategy at iNvolved Media. iNvolved Media was purchased by Active International in 2015. Clients include popular food brands, technology brands and other CPG companies. Prior to joining iNvolved Media, Karim led the paid social media strategy for some of Canada's most popular CPG and confectionery brands for Catalyst/GroupM. Karim started in the social media space when he co-founded and was the President of THIRDOCEAN where he led the creation of digital content for companies including Scotiabank, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Microsoft, Wild Water Kingdom, Palomino Systems Inc. and Techvibes. Karim has also been recognized as a pioneer in podcasting having interviewed people such as such as federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, former MLSE boss Richard Peddie, TVO's Steve Paikin, Canadian serial angel investor Dr. Boris Wertz, HootSuite founder Ryan Holmes, Mathew Ingram, Mitch Joel from Mirium and many, many others. As a demonstration of thought leadership, Karim led the development and execution of reports discussing how technology and digital media have impacted industries such as retail, education, health, gaming, sports and banking.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Latest Blogs

ITB in your inbox

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.