BlackBerry Z3 ‘Jakarta’ touchscreen phone leaked, could arrive during MWC 2014

A new touchscreen BlackBerry smartphone has been leaked. It’s tentatively known as the BlackBerry Z3 (although we’re not to sure what happened to the Z1 and the Z2) or under the codename Jakarta, and it may be the result of BlackBerry’s collaboration with Foxconn. An image of the device has been leaked along with a set of possible specs, and here’s what it’s all about.

The image is a render, and not an actual picture of the phone, but it’s connection to previous full-touchscreen BlackBerry phones is obvious. The textured rear panel has a centrally set BlackBerry logo, along with a camera lens and flash unit mounted side-by-side in the top left corner. Around the front, we can see a forward-facing camera lens and a notification light. The design is more angular than the BlackBerry Z10 though.

Let’s move on to the specs. If the leak is correct, this isn’t going to be a sequel to the massive BlackBerry Z30, but a similarly sized phone with a lower price. This fits in with comments made by both BlackBerry CEO John Chen and Foxconn’s chairman, who indicated the first phone produced together would be aimed at developing markets.

The display may measure 5-inches, but the resolution could be a rather low 960 x 540 pixels, while the processor is expected to be a 1.2GHz dual-core chip. It could be joined by 1.5GB of RAM though, along with 8GB of internal storage memory. The camera on the rear of the phone should have 5-megapixels, while the basic front cam should have 1.1-megapixels. A sensibly sized 2650mAh battery completes the rumored spec list.

Foxconn’s chairman, Terry Gou, was quoted as saying we’d see “multiple [Foxconn-produced BlackBerry] devices” at Mobile World Congress this year. Perhaps the Jakarta is one of those phones? The Barcelona trade show begins in less than a week, so we don’t have long before we find out.