Blackberry Z3 shows up in Malaysia

A photo taken in Malaysia shows the BlackBerry Z3 inhabiting the same space as the Z10 and Z30.

So what's so special about the Z3? Well it's the first BB handset to be produced by Foxconn (BlackBerry entered a five deal contract with the company). They are in agreements with BlackBerry to manufacture handsets for emerging and low-income markets, with a 50% share of the profits.

All of the BB devices that are available in emerging markets now run BB OS 7, so the other factor that makes the Z3 special is that it's the first handset to run OS 10 that'll be available in developing mobile areas.

Blackberry also announced that they're going to start producing the 9900 again, and it'll still be running OS 7.

The Z3 has the same screen size as its older brother, Blackberry's current pride and joy, the Z30 (5-inch display), but it doesn't match the flagship's resolution: 540 x 960 vs 720 x 1280.

The Z3 will be available in Indonesia towards the end of this month, and then later on customers in other emerging markets will get to pick one up.

BlackBerry needs to grab market share wherever it can get it, as the company's downward financial spiral continues. If they are able to spread BB OS 10 in certain regions and establish it as a prominent mobile OS, then they may have a fighting chance.