Nokia, Samsung To Reap Rewards From BlackBerry Sale
**Editor’s Note:
Click here
for our list of August’s hottest selling smartphones to see how BlackBerrys fared against the competition, or
here
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.
