TORONTO – BlackBerry’s latest rendition of its classic smartphone with a physical keyboard, the BlackBerry Q10, may arrive in the U.S. much later than the touch-screen Z10, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The report cites BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins who said the BlackBerry Q10 will likely come out eight to 10 weeks after U.S. carriers release the touch-screen Z10 model.
The BlackBerry Z10 launched Tuesday in Canada, but is not expected to be released to U.S. consumers until mid-March.
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This means that the BlackBerry Q10 would not be launched until mid-May to early June, if the Z10 does in fact become available to U.S. customers by mid-March.
Heins notes in the interview with the Associated Press that the exact release date will depend on each of the wireless carriers.
But delaying the launch of both new BlackBerry smartphones could be dangerous for the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone-maker. Experts suggest that capturing the U.S. market is critical to RIM’s success.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of the U.S. market,” said tech expert Marc Saltzman.
“If you can capture the U.S. market by playing the numbers game you are going to get the Canadian market because we are heavily influenced culturally by the U.S. There is almost a trickledown effect that marketers know. If a product is popular in the U.S. chances are it’s going to be popular in Canada, with some exceptions, without even having to advertize directly to that group.”
Most reports are suggesting the BlackBerry Q10 is set for an April release in Canada.
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