BlackBerry Z3, a budget smartphone, will cost you Rs 16,000 in India and nearly Rs 12,000 in Indonesia.
The Ontario-based BlackBerry said the price difference of around Rs 4,000 is due to telecom operator bundling in Indonesia. Indonesian telecom operators Indosat and XL supported BlackBerry Z3 launch by offering Z3 with a discount to promote their data plans to mobile subscribrs. Phone available through mobile operator network with a discount is a not usual practice in the Indian telecom market.
Also read: BlackBerry Z3 smartphone priced at $190 in Indonesia
This apart, since BlackBerry Z3 is available through retail and online channels, the smartphone will go through 2-3 layers of channels and each channel take some commission. Since Indonesian operators sold BlackBerry Z3 directly, the phone vendor could reach to Indonesian smartphone users with a real cost effective phone.
The other culprit is Indian tax structure.
Interestingly, BlackBerry Z3 had a customized version – Jakarta — as well for Indonesian customers. The other important aspect about cost effective BlackBerry Z3 smartphone is it’s manufactured by Foxconn. The Canadian company is currently thinking that this phone and future phones coming this year will be able to transform its fortunes.
Also read: BlackBerry India may launch Z3 budget smartphone on 25 June
The only silver lining is that BlackBerry Z3 will be available at a discount of Rs 1,000 through Flipkart and The Mobile Store in India. With this Rs 1,000 discount as well, the touch phone on BlackBerry10.2.10 OS platform will cost Rs 15,000 for mobile Indians.
Addressing a press meet in Delhi, BlackBerry India Managing Director Sunil Lalvani said: “The BlackBerry Z3 offers consumer engaging user experience with all the features of BlackBerry 10 combined in one powerful smartphone. The BlackBerry Z3 is also the first smartphone to be introduced from our strategic partnership with Foxconn and it further strengthens our commitment to enhance our devices portfolio.”
