BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY): High-End ‘Jesus Phone’ Rio Coming, Says Lucas Atkins

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is set to unveil a high-end all-touch smartphone codenamed “Rio,” Lucas Atkins of N4BB reveals.

While BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has released the high-end BlackBerry Passport this year, the Canadian handsets maker and business services provider has not yet launched a high-end all-touch smartphone to follow the Z30 and the Z10, Atkins said.

“However, today, I am happy to exclusively reveal BlackBerry is in fact working on a new high-end all-touch codenamed ‘Rio,’” the Uber Media Group founder wrote.

However, Atkins did not provide detailed specifications, even just how many megapixels the device’s camera will carry, for the device. He noted that based on information that has been passed to him, the “Rio” phone or what he calls the “Jesus phone” for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), is still in the early stages hence the lack of specifications.

Nonetheless, given that he touts the device ass the follow up to the Z30, it’s likely that it will get respectable hardware on top of improved software from BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). According to Atkins, the “Rio” phone will likely be debuted by BlackBerry next year.

BlackBerry is still in a rebuilding phase after its luck turned due to lagging behind more nimble competitors in the smartphone space. However, many are lauding the steps the company’s CEO, John Chen, has taken to shore up the company.

For example, Peter Misek of DN Capital recently said that the company actually has a growth area that many observers are failing to notice. He said that the company expects to increase its software sales by up to three times by February next year.

Nelson Obus’ Wynnefield Capital reported owning 2.07 million BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares by the end of the September quarter. This represents a 38% increase in the firm’s position in the Canadian company. The shares had a total value at the time the firm reported the stake of about $18.82 million.