Blackberry unveils smartphones made by Foxconn

Struggling Canadian handset maker Blackberry unveiled Tuesday its first smartphones built by new Taiwanese partner Foxconn as it fights to recover from huge losses. AFP

BARCELONA—Struggling Canadian handset maker Blackberry unveiled Tuesday its first smartphones built by new Taiwanese partner Foxconn as it fights to recover from huge losses.

Blackberry showed off two devices to help it claw back market share in a new five-year partnership with Foxconn.

“We are definitely here to compete and to win back some lost ground before the end of the year,” Blackberry chief executive John Chen told reporters at the Feb. 24-27 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Blackberry reported a $4.4 billion (3.2-billion-euro) loss in the third quarter of 2013 last December but cheered investors by announcing it was teaming up with Foxconn, which is also a key supplier to a chief rival, Apple Inc.

First handset

The first handset is the Q20, which has Blackberry’s trademark physical keyboard, and is to be released later this year.

The second, the Z2, has touch screen and is aimed at the Indonesian market, going on sale in April for less than $200, Chen said.

Now joined with Foxconn, which is the marketing name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Blackberry will focus its comeback fight on selling phones to its traditional marketplace, the corporate sector, he said.

“Our turnaround strategy is to focus on enterprise,” Chen said. “We are always known as the number one in security.”

The Blackberry boss said he aimed to improve the company’s liquidity position this fiscal year before making a return to profit in the following year.