With all the leaks and rumors the BlackBerry handsets weren’t
a well-kept secret. They debuted
their two new handsets, their new operating system and their brand new App
Store (see previous article here). What was surprising about this event was
that pre-orders and orders were given a speculative date of March. Why such a long wait? When Apple and Samsung
debut a new product, pre-orders begin immediately and within 2 weeks they ship.
We have not been given a clear reason why but there is some evidence we can
look to like the Super Bowl Ads, service provider testing and internal issues
within BlackBerry itself.
I would assume BlackBerry booked Ad space during the Super Bowl months in
advance. They must have thought that they would be ready for release by the
time of their announcement and following that, the Super Bowl. Some believe that the Super
Bowl Ad was bought to inspire people and consistently keep BlackBerry fresh in
the mind. They may not have been equipped to ship their new handsets but
they have done one thing correct; throughout their re-branding they have
constantly given us pieces of information, building the intrigue.
What about the carriers? They all agreed to launch the same
day in the US but did they have sufficient testing time? The current reason the
US is getting the Z10 later than the rest of the world is that carrier testing
is taking longer. The major carriers may not have had enough time with the
handsets, and since they will be fielding support issues they probably wanted
to ensure quality.
It could be that
BlackBerry didn’t supply them with samples quick enough, or the FCC testing of
the Z10 model is being delayed which impacts Verizon and Sprint. Or perhaps
the US carriers were concerned about BlackBerry’s viability and wanted to see
the market reaction. This supports the Super Bowl Ad and the pre-emptive debut
on January 30th. If intrigue was less than they hoped, carriers
would have time to scale down their orders and plans.
BlackBerry (RIM at the time) did cite that they had to wait
for a certain dual-core processor to become available. This reasoning supports
the idea that they couldn’t make enough units in time to give all four of the
major carriers an adequate launch date. Production delays could also be excuses though.
It’s possible that BlackBerry just needed time. So they slowly leaked
information to keep up intrigue about their new designs, buying time to physically
build their brand and devices.
Recently Home Depot dropped their
contract which held around 10,000 handsets. Why would they stick it out with
BlackBerry all this time only to drop the contract 6 weeks before the new units
are available? Is this a foreshadowing moment for the new BlackBerry?
The actual release date has been leaked for March 27th
on T-Mobile. Solavei, a smaller startup carrier who piggy backs on T-Mobile’s
network, has them available now for $1000 with a $50 unlimited plan. This smaller
customer network allowed the upstart MVNO to finish testing the BlackBerry Z10
earlier than their competitors. Verizon has confirmed that they would offer the
Z10 for $199 with a two year contract and it is expected to be priced similarly
on the other networks. There is no new release date on AT&T, Verizon or
Sprint but you take what you can get for now.
BlackBerry has consistently promoted their new designs and
we know the network carriers are all on board. The issue is if the hype of
their January 30th event and the Super Bowl Advertisement campaign
will be enough to last us until the handsets become available. A closer
availability date in the US definitely would have been optimal but here’s
hoping consumers don’t forget to buy the new Blackberry handsets when they are
finally available at the end of March. This is a make or break moment for BlackBerry. They are losing contracts, and delaying their new product release. Is this a grim outlook for the company or will they pull through?
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