Blackberry CEO believes the Q10 will sell tens of millions of units

[Shawn Knight]

Where most believed the Z10 would pull BlackBerry back into contention, it’s the QWERTY-laden Q10 that has CEO Thorsten Heins excited as of late. The executive recently told Bloomberg he expects to sell tens of millions of Z10 handsets after a solid launch in the UK.

Heins said the Z10 was heading into the install base of 70 million BlackBerry users, many of whom have no doubt been waiting for a device that molds the new BlackBerry 10 operating system with a physical keyboard.

Shares in BlackBerry rose 3.9 percent to $15.61 at the close of trading in New York following the interview. Stock value has increased 32 percent this year with the hopes that BlackBerry’s new line of smartphones and a renewed operating system can help rejuvenate a company that’s publically fallen from grace largely due to a lack of innovation over the past several years.

Carphone Warehouse and Selfridges both sold out of the Z10 within hours according to Jeffries analyst Peter Misek. He said salespeople were well-versed on the device and there was more buzz surrounding it than the recent Z10 launch.

The Q10 is expected to arrive at all four major US carriers by the end of May for around $250 with a two-year service agreement. The price tag puts it in line with other premium phones, a strategy that William Blair & Co. analyst Anil Doradla believes is targeting business users who are willing to pay more for a handset they believe will boost their productivity.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52411-blackberry-ceo-believes-the-q10-will-sell-tens-of-millions-of-units.html

 

[Arris]

Still don't see the benefit of a hardware keyboard over a landscape rotated software one. I thought BB had woken up and moved to present day with the Z10 but this in my mind is backwards. I know there are lots of people who prefer the hardware buttons but with many corporations migrating to iphone or windows phone systems away from BB I don't think this is going to be the saviour device of the company.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

As with all consumables, cost will have the final say.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Still don't see the benefit of a hardware keyboard over a landscape rotated software one. I thought BB had woken up and moved to present day with the Z10 but this in my mind is backwards. I know there are lots of people who prefer the hardware buttons but with many corporations migrating to iphone or windows phone systems away from BB I don't think this is going to be the saviour device of the company.

True, but there's an expression in business... 'Stick to the pudding' which means don't venture too far from what you're good at. McDonalds failed at selling pizza and JCPenny recently failed when they tried to change their image. Blackberry is known for it's square-like devices with keyboards, if they can make a new one that's suited for 2013, then they may as well try. It'll be harder to distinguish themselves with a large 4.5inch rectangle touch screen that looks like your average windows/android/iphone variant.

 

[Lionvibez]

Still don't see the benefit of a hardware keyboard over a landscape rotated software one. I thought BB had woken up and moved to present day with the Z10 but this in my mind is backwards. I know there are lots of people who prefer the hardware buttons but with many corporations migrating to iphone or windows phone systems away from BB I don't think this is going to be the saviour device of the company.

There is apparently 70 Million BB users with keyboards that disagree with you.

 

[psycros]

Nice editing, Techspot. This post only used the wrong model number about half a dozen times.

As to the subject at hand, no, the Q10 won't save Blackberry because they bungled the two things they HAD to get right: the UI and the ergonomics. The whole gesture thing is poorly implemented and not what BB users want. Doing away with the ever-present physical buttons, esp. the trackpad, was the other huge mistake. The Z10 and Q10 offer no real advantages versus other Android devices, particularly models like like the upcoming NEC Terrain. If Blackberry has any intelligence left in the company they will release an OS update that introduces a virtual trackpad and "button belt". They should also design a new Curve that looks almost identical to the old one - physical controls and all.

 

[coppersloane]

You really have to use one of these physical keyboards to compare it to an on-screen keyboard. It's 110% more accurate than an on-screen keyboard, faster, and more accurate. Businessmen enjoy the combination.

Productivity is key. Microsoft opted to integrate keyboards into their tablets covers for this very reason. I type this on my TypePad for my Surface, scroll up with my fingers, then touch the Post Comment button. Efficiency rules.