Blackberry rises from its grave
 

It is starting to look like Blackberry might have pulled itself from the brink of ruin after all.

The company's share price has surged after an established partner had placed an order for 1 million BlackBerry 10 smartphones, with shipments set to begin immediately.

The smartphone maker, formally known as RIM, said it is the largest ever single purchase order in its history. It is the sort of news the company needed after a couple of years of failing to do anything positive in a market it once owned completely.

In a last roll of the dice, Blackberry rolled out a a new line of smartphones powered by its BlackBerry 10 operating system.

BlackBerry did not say where its "established partner" was based or the time frame for the device sales. It also did not say if the order is for just Z10 devices or both Z10 and Q10 devices.

According to Reuters, analysts view the announcement as a positive, especially since it comes close on the heels of announcements from Verizon Communications and AT&T confirming that they will be selling the Z10 device later this month.

Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um said that the three announcements provide comfort in the May quarter forecast.

Um hit the headlines when he claimed that the stock will outperform as Blackberry sells 2.5 million Blackberry 10 devices in the quarter ending 1 June.

Blackberry's stock ended the day up 8.2 percent and you can pick up a second hand share for $15.65 on the Nasdaq. Its value went up further and was trading at $16.07 in the US last night.

Other analysts were less optimistic, saying that it was too early to read too much into the single sales order.

Last week, Blackberry chief executive Thorsten Heins said the company was very encouraged by the traction that the Z10 was gaining.

http://news.techeye.net/business/bla...from-its-grave