BlackBerry launches Z3 budget handset

JAKARTA/TORONTO: BlackBerry launched a low-cost touchscreen device in Jakarta, the Z3, as the embattled smartphone maker looks to revive sales in emerging markets like Indonesia. The success of the handset retailing for less than $200 could well decide BlackBerry's future in smartphones.

The Z3 Jakarta Edition will hit store shelves on May 15.

The Z3 is the first phone to be launched by BlackBerry since new CEO John Chen took the helm late last year. After Indonesia it will be gradually introduced in six other countries including the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Black-Berry hopes the device and others to follow will help it claw back some of the collapse in its market share, ceded to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co’s line of Galaxy devices powered by Google Inc’s Android operating system.