BlackBerry Limited (BB)

[chaostrader]

Alleged photos of the rumored BlackBerry 9720 phone have popped up online.

A slew of photos hosted by Thai BlackBerry Club reveal a traditional phone equipped with the standard QWERTY keyboard. Outfitted with BlackBerry OS 7.1, the 9720 is apparently destined for emerging markets. And the specs so far would indicate a low-cost device.

A User Agent Profile document discovered by tech blog site Ubergizmo points to a 480x360 pixel screen and 3G support.

BlackBerry continues to be knocked around in a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Android. The company was hit by a dismal quarter in which smartphone sales were weak and more subscribers jumped ship to other platforms.

BlackBerry has been pinning much of its hope on BB OS 10, which launched in January. But BB 7 devices continue to represent the majority of the company's smartphone sales. The obvious question is whether a 9720 phone could generate much consumer demand, even in emerging markets and even at a bargain-basement price?
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