Alongside today's launch of the Motorola Moto-E (and an updated Moto-G), BlackBerry opened up pre-orders for the BlackBerry Z3. Announced at MWC, the handset sports a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400, 1.5 GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage.
Those mid-range specs coupled with a five inch screen, give BlackBerry a budget handset aiming at the phablet market. The big giveaway is that BlackBerry is labelling the handset as the 'Jakarta' edition and it will initially be available only in the Indonesian market.
It's interesting to compare these two handsets not for the specs (the Z3 is slightly more powerful than the Moto E), but for the fortunes of the respective companies.
Motorola is in the process of leaving Google GOOGL +0.49% to find a new home at Lenovo. The Moto handset range (starting with the high-end Moto X, and the mid-range Moto G) have established the brand in the market and given Motorola a place in the current thinking of 'modern' smartphone players. The Moto E pushes further into the budget range, and can leverage the publicity and respect gathered from the more expensive models to help it sell in the emerging markets (as well as being an incredibly affordable 'second handset' that doesn't demand a contract or network subsidy to be affordable).
BlackBerry Z3 (image: BlackBerry press)
Contrast that with BlackBerry's approach. The Z3 may have a slight specifications advantage but sales of the existing BB10 powered handsets (notably the Z10 and Q10) have not been great. BlackBerry does not have the momentum that Motorola has, so the new handset will have to fight through on its own.
That's probably why the Z3 has a limited release in one market. Indonesia is one of Blackberry's last strongholds, and the smartphone manufacturer can trade on that to get sales for the Z3. While it doesn't help with the wider perception of BlackBerry around the world (and especially in the technology websites and press focused on American and Europe), it does allow BlackBerry to keep building devices, building up the user base, and building new revenue streams.
Motorola is clearly on the way up, aiming high, and people believe that. BlackBerry needs to re-kindle that belief in their fan-base and in the eyes of the analysts.
Whether the answer is the Z3 remains to be seen, but the handset is not going to be especially visibility in the world market. BlackBerry may be selling the Z3, but even local success will not translate into the sort of worldwide momentum that Motorola has built up.
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