In case you're keeping score, T-Mobile will become the first U.S. carrier to sell the BlackBerry Z10. The carrier confirmed that it would begin selling the BlackBerry Z10 to its business customers on March 11. The carrier did not indicate when it would open up sales for consumers but said it would occur before the end of March.
BlackBerry has bet the farm on the success of this smartphone and the operating system running inside of it. The BlackBerry Z10 is the first smartphone to ship with BlackBerry's new mobile operating system, BlackBerry 10. The smartphone and operating system are either the keys to BlackBerry's future or the nails in its coffin.
BlackBerry is launching its first smartphone in the U.S. running its new BlackBerry 10 OS. The company will reintroduce itself to consumers in the form of an all-touch screen phone and operating system that is heavily driven by gestures. The BlackBerry Z10 was announced in January but faced a delayed launch in the U.S. due to strict carrier testing. The testing is over and BlackBerry is hoping that when it offers what is ultimately the future of the company, consumers will make room for another mobile operating system in their lives. The smartphone is a direct competitor to Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3 smartphones in terms of features and specs.
The BlackBerry Z10 features BlackBerry 10, 4.2-inch screen, 1280 x 768 resolution at 355ppi (pixels per inch), 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, Adreno 225 GPU, 16GB internal storage, 2GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, 802.11 a/b/g/n and a removable 1,800mAh battery.
T-Mobile released the following statement:
The BlackBerry Z10 will be available for pre-order for business customers starting on March 11 for $249.99 on a two-year Classic plan. Please note that pricing can be impacted by volume discounts and other factors, making the device even more cost effective. The consumer retail availability date and pricing will be shared at a later date.
