BlackBerry Q5 goes on sale in Canada

BlackBerry is looking to sell Canadians on a new smartphone, one day after revealingthe company itself may be up for sale.

The troubled tech company on Tuesday introduced the BlackBerry Q5 an economy model originally meant for markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to the Canadian market.

The Q5 runs on the companys latest operating system and follows the debut of the Z10 model, which Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerryunveiled with much fanfareearlier this year.

• Don Pittis: Who would want to buy a BlackBerry?
• BlackBerry timeline: A tech titan's roller coaster ride

The Z10 and its siblings have struggled against the latest iPhone and Android devices, which continue to dominate the smartphone market despite BlackBerrys loyal customer base and once-prominent position.

The Q5 met underwhelming reviews and is thought to be falling short of sales expectations, though BlackBerry has not released any official data.

BlackBerry said Monday its board has launched a formal review of its "strategic alternatives" including the possibility of selling the smartphone company.

There has also been much speculation the company could go private as another means of reversing its fortunes.

• The rise and fall of BlackBerry stock
• A by-the-numbers look at how we use smartphones

BlackBerry shares were up $1.11 or about 10 per cent at $12.24 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early afternoon trading, and had been even higher earlier in the session.