Nokia, Samsung To Reap Rewards From BlackBerry Sale
**Editor’s Note:
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for our list of August’s hottest selling smartphones to see how BlackBerrys fared against the competition, or
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for our top 10 list of best smartphones in 2013 (so far).**
BlackBerry‘s decision to let Fairfax Financial, its largest shareholder, to buy it out for $4.7 billion, could open the door even wider for its rivals particularly in those parts of the world where BlackBerry has maintained some strength.
The deal values the once-great smartphone manufacturer at $9 per share, which sets a floor for any competing counteroffers that may possibly emerge before the Nov. 4 deadline.
“The big winners here are Nokia and Samsung, the only two [major manufacturers] committed to physical QWERTY in the consumer market,” noted Wally Swain of Yankee Group, commenting specifically on a Reuters story. ”If Nokia can convince consumers, especially in emerging markets, that the Asha line ‘does everything your BlackBerry did,’ it will have a hit.”
BlackBerry’s stock has lost 20 percent of its value since Sept. 19. The company unveiled its BB10 operating system and a pair of new phones the Z10 and the Q10 earlier this year, but neither has proven to be a commercial success by most measurements.