BlackBerry signs five-year partnership with Foxconn for cheap phones in emerging markets

BlackBerry signs five-year partnership with Foxconn for cheap phones in emerging markets:

BlackBerry

BlackBerry's cheap 9720 model

Amid a rough earnings report, BlackBerry has a plan to stay focused on emerging markets.
BlackBerry today announced a five-year partnership with Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer used by Apple and other electronics companies, to jointly develop and build some upcoming budget smartphones.
John Chen, BlackBerry’s new CEO, stressed that all of the new devices will run BB10, though BlackBerry’s North American designers will be focusing their energy more on the company’s higher-end enterprise devices.
The company expects to release the first Foxconn-built phone around March or April. (Chen said during the earnings call that he already had one unit in his hands.) Foxconn will manufacture the BlackBerry phones in its Indonesia and Mexico plants.
For BlackBerry, a company that’s historically designed and manufactured its devices, such a partnership could offer some much-needed relief.