BlackBerry deal bolsters Foxconn's makeover gambit

[Wireless News]

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/GEIrFDq2uYwzJxqLI0kkzg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9NzU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2013-12-24T020138Z_1_CBRE9BN05MW00_RTROPTP_2_CHINA-LABOUR.JPG (http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-deal-bolsters-foxconn-39-makeover-gambit-020138668--finance.html)By Clare Jim and Poornima Gupta TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Foxconn's BlackBerry Ltd deal marks the Taiwanese firm's biggest step up the value chain - a chance to not just assemble smartphones, but help design them, too. The agreement to design and market phones starting in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country but an under-penetrated market, is a boon to a mega-manufacturer trying to grow its margins while making a play for a bigger slice of the global mobile devices market. Best known for putting together iPhones, Foxconn honed its skills by meeting Apple Inc's exacting standards and supply chain rigor. It boasts a workforce of more than 1 million and the scale to negotiate cheaper component prices than BlackBerry could obtain on its own.



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