The Jakarta handset is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2014.
The partnership between BlackBerry and Foxconn, which was first announced in December of last year, is about to produce its very first release of mobile devices, which will be debuted at the MWC 2014.
This answers the question that many people had about the next BlackBerry 10 based device.
According to Terry Gou, the chairman of Foxconn, when asked about the newest mobile devices from the struggling manufacturer, “We are working with them to design a new device, and we will showcase multiple devices at the trade show in Barcelona in February.” The specs regarding the handset have not been revealed, as it appears that the companies are attempting to keep them secret until the official launch.
The prediction is that the mobile devices will be lower end, and will be the BlackBerry Jakarta.
This lower end gadget will not be featuring a physical keyboard, as has been desired by many of the most loyal among the last lingering BlackBerry device owners. Instead, it will have a much more cost effective full touchscreen display. The goal is predicted to be to provide consumers with a new option to be able to purchase a touchscreen smartphone without a large price tag.
Many have been greatly interested in the fact that it seems that Gou has been talking about several mobile devices, and not a single gadget. This has spawned a great deal of speculation as to whether this means that BlackBerry will be launching more than one new handset, or if there will be more that are being manufactured by Foxconn, which could also suggest that Firefox OS gadgets will also be working their way into the mix.
It is believed that the “Jakarta” mobile devices will be slated to hit the emerging markets midway through the spring, this year, in April or May. This will still be at least a couple of months after its initial unveiling at the massive international technology news event. This description of the expected gadgets aligns well with the direction that the partnership had intended to take throughout 2014 and into the future.
This five year contract will have Foxconn manufacturing BlackBerry branded mobile phones at a couple of its facilities that are located in Mexico and in Indonesia. This was revealed in a statement that was released at the end of last week. Although Foxconn may be making some of the devices that are being made, it BlackBerry will be holding onto all of its own intellectual property and will be providing product assurance on the devices that Foxconn has manufactured.