Happy Friday everyone! Great news out of the BlackBerry camp this morning. It seems as if Taiwanese suppliers of BlackBerry smartphone components have reported an increase in production due to the Z10 and Q10 handsets, as well as preparations being made for the Q5 handset (and mid-range devices), due out in emerging markets in Q3.Â
We’ve all heard the mixed news coming from supply chain checks and retail store checks. It’s been a bit of a struggle to get a good grasp of what is really going on behind the scenes in terms of production and sale volume of the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
We caught wind of a report published by DigiTimes stating that several component manufacturers in Taiwan have reported an increase in the production of small sized LCD panels all attributed to the strong sales of BlackBerry 10 devices.
AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux both are panel suppliers for BlackBerry, but the two companies declined to comment on [volume of] orders from individual clients.
The demand out of Europe and the U.S. including the emerging markets in the Middle East are vaulting BlackBerry sales and forcing production spikes that are true indications that the BlackBerry brand is making a strong comeback, firmly securing itself as the #3 in the mobile space among the likes of Samsung and Apple.
Analysts estimate anywhere from 30-40 million handsets will be shipped this year, boosting sales estimates we have seen earlier this year with a drop of BlackBerry handset sales in February.
What do you think about this report? Does BlackBerry 10 really have what it takes?