14 DAY TRIAL // Starting today, mobile phone users in Canada can purchase the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in their local market, after the device was put up for grabs in the UK starting with January 31.
The same as in the aforementioned European country, the device has seen increased interest from end users in Canada even during the pre-order period, and analysts already suggest that it has enjoyed a better start than Nokia’s Lumia 920 did last year.
A recent article on AllThingsD notes that Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu and Barclays’ Jeff Kvaal both agree that BlackBerry’s new device did better than originally expected.
Previously, the smartphone was said to have registered success in the UK when launched last week, with some retailers already running out of stock of the white flavor.
Sales over the weekend have been strong as well, and Jeff Kvaal reports that limited stock is currently available in the country.
“Our recent store checks suggest that initial sales of the BlackBerry Z10 are off to a solid, if not healthy start in the U.K. We believe this is a function of strong sell-through versus limited sell-in,” he said, AllThingsD reports.
“We believe BlackBerry’s Z10 is off to a better start than the Lumia 920. The solid initial demand is a positive step in our view, despite the number of challenges that remain.”
Given the fact that Lumia 920 managed to drive Nokia’s overall Lumia sales above the 4 million mark in the fourth quarter of the last year, we might expect for the new BlackBerry Z10 to enjoy similar market performance.
Undoubtedly, BlackBerry needed a new device that would help it regain its foothold, and the new BlackBerry 10 smartphone might be that phone, it seems. The upcoming BlackBerry Q10 will certainly help as well.
However, it’s still early to confirm that BlackBerry has managed to step in the danger-free zone, considering the tight competition it faces from Android, iOS and Windows Phone.