BlackBerry slashes Q5 price by 20% to Rs 19,990

NEW DELHI: Canadian handset maker Black-Berry has reduced the price of its Q5 Qwerty smartphone by 20% to Rs 19,990 as a New Year offer, in a move seen by some as an attempt to clear up inventory of existing BB10 devices whose sales have been tepid since their launch in January 2013.

BlackBerry had said late 2013 that mounting inventory had cost the company about $1.6 billion in the third quarter, due to which the company had to cancel the launch of two new smartphones.

BlackBerry had reduced the price of its Q10 handset by over 13% to Rs 38,990 under a similar offer in December 2013, which remains valid till January 26 this year. Back in September, it reduced the Z10 smartphone price by 31% to Rs 29,990.

The Canadian firm has been facing stiff competition from other smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung as sales have declined over the past few months globally.

In India, the company’s market share has fallen to 0.5% in Q3 2013-14 from around 5% in the same time the year before.