KINGSTON, Jamaica — Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry (BB) will before Christmas launch its biggest and most powerful phone — the Z30 — in Jamaica and other Caribbean markets as it seeks to maintain its toehold in the region.

Kenneth Moore, BlackBerry’s territory sales manager for the Caribbean, is expecting the Z30 to raise BB’s profile in the region as it targets both the corporate customer as well as persons he called ‘professional users’ who always want to stay connected.

The Z30 is expected to compete against Samsung’s S4 and Apple’s iphone 5, but while Moore insisted that cost would depend on the island’s two carriers — Digicel and LIME — industry sources believe it will be priced below those two rivals in what is expected to be another fight for the top end of the smartphone market.

 Moore, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, was, however, excited with the timing of the launch of the Z30, which he called a top of the line instrument. “It is the best in the market, giving you 25 hours of mixed usage [before it needed to be charged again],” Moore said. The improved usage of the Z30 has been credited to the integrated battery, which Moore said is 60 per cent larger than that of the Z10, launched earlier in the year. 

Local carriers, said Moore, are very excited about the Z30 coming to the market at this time, and hinted that there are more BlackBerry models to hit the market in the new year. “It is important that we have a strong brand identity; the BlackBerry is still the best tool to stay connected,” according to Moore. And despite the beating that BlackBerry gets from the American press at times, Moore said the launch of the Z30 has shown that the company continues to be innovative and is hers to stay. “We have loyal customers in Jamaica and we will continue to invest in the country,” he said.

BlackBerry, meanwhile, has placed an importance on the Caribbean market because of its loyal customer base, being the first smartphone to enter the Caribbean. Corporate customers, including banks, it said, continue to rely on the BB because of the high security of its enterprise server.

The Z30 uses the 10.2 OS (operating system), which Moore said will be made available for download for users of the Z10, Q10 and Q5 models before the end of the year.

BlackBerry said the all-touch BlackBerry Z30 smartphone has a 5-inch screen and comes with hundreds of refinements and new features over other instruments launched earlier this year on the BB10 platform.

Carlo Chairello, executive vice-president for products at BlackBerry, said in September that “the new BlackBerry Z30 smartphone builds on the solid foundation and engaging user experience of the BlackBerry 10 platform like the powerful BlackBerry Hub, its exceptional touchscreen keyboard and industry-leading browser.

“Having apps like the full Documents to Go suite that comes preinstalled, together with its 5-inch display, the BlackBerry Z30 smartphone gives you a best-in-class productivity experience on the go,” said Chairello.

Among the phone’s features are:

• The new antenna technology, which the company said will tune reception to give a better connectivity in low-signal areas and result in few dropped calls;

• The stereo audio natural sound, which BlackBerry said will make the user hear nuances and variations in tone, “making conversation sound like you are in the same room”;

• The BBM Now Any App and Message Previews Everywhere, which will allow the user to get a preview of any message as it arrives; and the 

• BlackBerry priority hub which manages all conversations and notifications and helps the user to stay organised and focused on the most important tasks.