BlackBerrys Z3 Initial Stock Sold Out Two Week’s Since Launch, “We’ve sold about 75% of the stock that we got,” Himanshu Chakrawarti, chief executive at The Mobile Store. “The Z3 has done well so far, benefiting from the easy installment options and discounts.”
Analysts, however, feel the company’s ability to regain a foothold in India’s surging smartphone market, which it had led until a few years ago, will depend on follow-up models and the time taken to bring them to market, especially with competitors launching models at a furious pace. The phone has also been kicked off at a lower price than previous high profile launches from the company.
The Mobile Store offered Rs 1,000 off on the 5-inch dual-core handset that runs on the latest version of BB10 operating system. Flipkart also offered vouchers worth Rs 1,000 on pre-bookings until July 2, when the phone became commercially available.
The Z3 is among the first devices made by Foxconn for BlackBerry and debuted in Indonesia earlier this year.
Recent offerings by the company, including the Z10, Z30, Q10 and Q5 models, have failed in a market considered among the world’s fastest growing for smartphones and key to global success given the potential. “It is true that we have been almost stocked out (for Z3),” said Sameer Bhatia, director, distribution, BlackBerry India, adding the company has seen strong sales through the traditional retail store channel as well as online.
