RIM
The BlackBerry Q10 has just been announced and already it’s shipping later than expected. During the BlackBerry Experience event in New York, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins stated during a Q & A that the Q10 would be available in the United States in April. Now, according to a recent interview, the Q10 won’t be available in the United States until May.
During an interview with the AP, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins reveled that the new BlackBerry Q10 with a physical keyboard would be available in the United States eight to 10 weeks after the Z10 which is expected to land in mid to late-March.
To be fair, Heins did say that the timeframe was a soft projection. BlackBerry has been quick to point to carrier testing as the number one reason its new smartphones are launching in the US after Canada and the UK.
“In an ideal world they should have had the products in the US the day of the launch or soon after,” Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told Wired via email. “But, the certification process here is much more time consuming than in some international markets and BlackBerry should have had the products ready around September.”
BlackBerry corporate communications manager Rebecca Freiburger told Wired via email; “We expect the first global carriers to launch the BlackBerry Q10 in April. We will announce new pricing and availability information as carriers roll-out around the world. We are working closely with our carrier partners to accelerate their testing process, but cannot offer any specifics on US availability.”
The touchscreen-focused Z10 launched in the UK the day after the BlackBerry 10 Experience event on January 31. The phone then launched in Canada on Tuesday, February 5. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins released the follow statement on Wednesday, “In Canada, yesterday was the best day ever for the first day of a launch of a new BlackBerry smartphone. In fact, it was more than 50% better than any other launch day in our history in Canada. In the UK, we have seen close to three times our best performance ever for the first week of sales for a BlackBerry smartphone.”
Would these numbers be as rosy if the Z10 won’t available as quickly after launch? While BlackBerry has stated that it’s focused on regaining market share in the United States, launching devices up to four months after they have been announced in a market that moves as quickly as the smartphone market, could come back to haunt the Canadian company that’s enjoying success in other markets