 "Will a Rs 40,000 price tag hamper the BlackBerry Z10’s chances?")
The big question after BlackBerry’s launch of its two new devices, the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10, is “What’s the price?!”.
Unfortunately, India prices have not been announced by the company so far. So we will have to enter the speculation zone. But the newly-named BlackBerry did announce pricing and availability for the Z10 on its blog, for several key markets including the UK, Canada and UAE. BlackBerry’s official blog said right after the launch, “Many of our global partners have already launched or will be launching pre-registration and pre-order sites today.”
The BlackBerry Z10 is a full touchscreen phone running on BB10
The UAE pricing is the closest indicator for the eventual price-tag on the handsets shipped to India. The BlackBerry Z10 will be available starting February 10th, with an unlocked handset retailing for AED 2,599. Converting the UAE price to Indian Rupees, the Z10 would cost Rs 37,707. Taking into account, the levies and duties to be paid for importing the handset to India, the Z10 might end up being priced closer to 40,000. At that price, the Z10 would be in the range of the Galaxy S3, HTC One X and One X+ and the Nokia Lumia 920.
Only the Nokia Lumia 920 has specs that can be compared to the BlackBerry device. Both have dual-core processors and 720p screens and fancy camera options. However, the S3 and the HTC flagship phones bring better specs and a more seasoned OS. BlackBerry will have a tough time convincing consumers to pick their handset over the competition, despite the popularity of the brand in India. In fact, pricing the Z10 at that range might be counter-productive to BlackBerry’s efforts of making an impact in the market.
On the other hand, the Blackberry Q10, whose price has not been announced as yet, might be the device that might sell more. It presents a more traditional BlackBerry experience thanks to the physical keyboard and also brings the new OS, of course.
In Britain, the BlackBerry Z10 is available from today on monthly contracts and prepaid plans from EE, O2, Vodafone, Phones 4u, BT, 3UK and the Carphone Warehouse. The phone will be available for free at Carphone Warehouse from £36 per month (approx Rs 3,000) on various networks. On EE, UK’s only 4G network provider, the Z10 will cost you £50 (Rs 4,250) up front with a £41 (Rs 3,450) monthly two-year contract. O2 prices haven’t been confirmed yet, while on Vodafone, you can purchase the Z10 with an upfront cost of £29 (Approx Rs 2,500) along with a £42 monthly Red Data plan on contract or for free with a £47 (Rs 4,000) monthly plan.
In Canada, the BlackBerry Z10 will be available starting February 5th. Pricing will vary by carrier partner, but it will retail for around $149.99 (approx Rs 8,000) on a three-year contract.
If the likes of Airtel or Vodafone employ this pricing model in the case of the new BlackBerry phone, then a subsidised Z10 at around Rs 10,000 with a monthly plan for data and talk-and-text would be very lucrative indeed. More importantly, it would make the handset more accessible to the general public.
Follow all the latest BlackBerry 10 news at our dedicated BB10 section.
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