BlackBerry Z30 flagship unveiled with 5-inch display and BB 10.2 OS

BlackBerry Ltd launched its new Z30 flagship smartphone on Wednesday, as it battles to win back market share despite uncertainty around its future.

Once a pioneer in the smartphone arena, BlackBerry said last month it was weighing options that could include an outright sale, in the face of lacklustre sales for its new devices that run on the BlackBerry 10 operating system .

The long-rumored BlackBerry Z30 device, which is first being unveiled at an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be BlackBerry's new top-of-the-line device, taking the crown from the smaller BlackBerry Z10 that was launched early this year.

The new touchscreen device, which boasts a five-inch display and a 1.7 gigahertz processor, will compete against the likes of Apple Inc's new iPhone 5s and Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy S4 , along with a slew of other devices that are powered by Google Inc's Android platform.

The company faces an uphill battle in generating interest in the new phone, however, given the lack of clarity around its future.

While the company has long aspired to make its BlackBerry 10 operating system the No. 3 smartphone platform in the market, the latest industry data indicates that Microsoft Corp's Windows Phone platform is in fact more likely to clinch that spot as its devices continue to gain ground.

Although the new line of BlackBerry devices has been well received by reviewers, analysts say the company lacks the financial heft to vie against industry giants like Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft, which boast massive marketing and R&D budgets.

Some analysts contend that Microsoft's move earlier this month to acquire Nokia's phone business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros, poses another hurdle for BlackBerry, as the software giant is likely to redouble its catch-up efforts in the mobile device business.

But Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry, which is set to report its fiscal second-quarter results next week, appears to be sticking with its product roadmap for now, even as it reviews its alternatives.

The company, which touts the Z30 as its "biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone" to date, said the device will begin to hit store shelves in the UK and parts of the Middle East as early as next week.

The smartphone will go on sale with select carriers and retailers in other regions over the remainder of the year, said the company, adding specific pricing and availability will be announced by its partners at the time of their respective launches.

Apple could launch 4.5 to 5-inch display iPhones, analyst reports

According to a prediction by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple are likely to extend the iPhone 5's screen to a 4.5-inch, or even 5-inch display

Following reports earlier this week that Apple have been testing out larger displays on the iPhone 5, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that 4.5-inch to 5-inch displays are possible but anything above that is unlikely. The Wall Street Journal first reported that testing was being carried out on screens ranging from 4.8-inch to 6-inch so Kuo's predictions lie close to the initial reports. According to AppleInsider, who obtained the note from Kuo, the reason displays will not be bigger than 5-inches is due to Apple's "unwavering principle of one hand use," but Kuo thinks Apple will extend the iPhon 5's in-cell touchscreen technology in next year's lineup. Apple previously increased the screen size from the iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 by lenghtening the screen rather than increasing the phone's width. The rumours come just days before the rumoured launch of the Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on September 10th. According to leaked specs, the iPhone 5S and 5C will adhere to the current 4-inch display seen on the iPhone 5. As well as making predicitions on screen size, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also predicted that the iPhone 5c will retail between £230 and £320 SIM free. It has also been confirmed that Apple's September 10th event will see the release of iOS 7.