The ailing smart maker BlackBerry Ltd announced that it has struck a deal with China's TCL Communication Technology LTD for making and selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices across the world.   

The deal gives TCL the license to manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded smartphones in all countries except in some of the key markets such as India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.  

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BlackBerry CEO John Chen hinted that the company has already initiated talks with an Indian company to make phones for Indian market and an agreement is soon forthcoming on this front.  

TCL has already made two Android-based BlackBerry phones - DTEK50 and DTEK60 - that were unveiled in October. A month before that, BlackBerry struck a deal with Indonesia's BB Merah Putih to manufacture and sell new devices across Indonesia. 

Chen has been busy diversifying the business of the Canadian-based company since he took over the reins three years back. The company, which was once a top player in the smart phone industry, is now steadily shifting its focus on the software business.

BlackBerry's profit from software and other services stood at $156 million in its latest quarter, down from $166 million in the last quarter. The revenue from smart phone device accounted for $105 million in the last quarter.

For several years, BlackBerry has been losing the market share in the lucrative smart phone to arch rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics. Several industry analysts blame Canadian firm's inability to understand consumer needs and failure to gauge market demands for its falling fortunes. 

TagsBlackberry, TCL, TCL Corporation, BlackBerry China, china