MANILA, Philippines -- BlackBerry launched on Wednesday its latest smartphone in the Philippines.
Powered by the re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform, the BlackBerry Z10 will be available starting March 19 from the country's three carriers Globe Telecom, Smart Communications Inc., and Sun Cellular. Both Smart and Sun are part of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Group.
"Year 2013 is the 10th year since BlackBerry smartphones were first officially introduced here. And today, we're bringing the BlackBerry Z10 in the Philippines in black and white," said Cameron Vernest, country director of BlackBerry Philippines.
Vernest said the Z10 is BlackBerry's most advanced smartphone yet. It features a 1.5 GHz dual core processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 64GB cards.
According to Kristan Salvo, business manager for BlackBerry Philippines, the Z10 also includes the latest enhancements in high density pixel and screen technology to display vivid images.
The smartphone features a micro HDMI out port for presentations, and sensors such as NFC or near field communications to support mobile payments and the exchange of information.
Salvo said another feature of the Z10 is the BlackBerry Flow, which enables features and apps to flow seamlessly together.
"For example, you can tap on an attendee listed for a meeting to see their latest tweet or their LinkedIn profile. Or tap the thumbnail of a picture you just took to launch the Picture editor and quickly apply a transformation or filter, then instantly share it with your contacts," Salvo said.
The executive also shared BlackBerry has launched a total of 70,000 apps and will continue to add more in the next few months.
Salvo added all three authorized carriers will soon announce their service offerings with the Z10. The smartphone is pegged at Php29,990.