BlackBerry slashes Z10 prices 2nd time; now at Rs 17,990

Z10, which was launched at Rs 43,490, was slashed to Rs 29,990 in September

Sagging sales have forced Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry to cut the price of Z10 for the second time since the launch in India in February last year.

Z10, which runs on its latest BB10 operating system, is now priced at Rs 17,990. It was launched at Rs 43,490, but the price was slashed to Rs 29,990 in September.

The company has started the offer from today for the next 60 days.

BlackBerry said the offer is to mark the 10th anniversary of its foray into the Indian market.

Customers can now purchase BlackBerry Z10 running the latest BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1 at a special price of Rs 17,990 in the next 60 days starting immediately, it said in a statement.

"BlackBerry has a vast and loyal user base in India and we're keen to provide these consumers with the unique communication experience that BlackBerry 10 offers," BlackBerry India Managing Director Sunil Lalvani said.

This offer will ensure that users are able to enjoy cutting edge experience of a full-touch device combined with a revolutionary operating system - all at an attractive price point, he added.

Once a leader in the smartphone category, the Waterloo (Canada)-headquartered firm has seen a steady decline in market share, losing out to rivals Samsung, Apple and Nokia.

Research firm IDC said: "BlackBerry was the only operating system to realise negative year-over-year change of 77 per cent both for the quarter and for the year (2013) (-40.9 per cent)".

BlackBerry had launched its new operating system BB10 with much fanfare in January last year. However, devices based on the new OS have failed to excite consumers and analysts.

"Its legacy BB7 outpaced BB10 towards the end of the year, definitely not the results that the company had hoped for when it released BB10 in January," IDC said.

For the three months ended November 30, 2013, BlackBerry reported revenues of about USD 1.2 billion, compared to USD 1.6 billion in the previous quarter.

The company sold about 1.9 million smartphones in Q3, compared to 3.7 million smartphones in the previous quarter.

"During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the company recorded a primarily non-cash, pre-tax charge against inventory and supply commitments of approximately USD 1.6 billion, or USD 1.3 billion after tax, which is primarily attributable to BlackBerry 10 devices," BlackBerry said.