Denying rumours that the Blackberry Z10’s return rates are higher than sales, the company has stated that the return rates in the U.S. and around the world have been in line or better than its internal expectations. The rates have also been consistent with those for other premium smartphones, according to Blackberry.
Analysts have been criticizing about the lukewarm launch of Z10 and some have claimed that its sales have disappointed at most major carrier stores. The device is Blackberry’s flagship phone with which the company hopes to recover from its do or die situation. Earlier, post the launch of Z10, there had been reports that about half of those who had opted for the device had switched from iOS and Android. The Z10 also sold out in India and also secured the fifth position in Carphone Warehouse’s top ten monthly phones.
Last month, a research team at RBC estimated that Blackberry will deliver 500,000 units in the February quarter, which was higher than the estimated 350,000. Shipping estimates for May quarter stand at 2 million units. In addition, Blackberry has also claimed that it has received the largest-ever single purchase order of one million handsets for the first time in its history. They recently confirmed it by stating that the same number had been shipped to its partners in the last quarter excluding the United States, where the phone was released late last month.
There are conflicting rumours regarding Z10 and investors will get to know the truth only after reviewing BlackBerry’s next earnings report. The Z10’s sales are crucial to the future of the once popular company that dropped off the top five smartphone manufacturers list and contributes to only 5.9% of the operating system market at present (in the US). Blackberry has now pinned hopes on the next smartphone in the pipeline, the keyboard toting Q10. The Q10 is expected to cater to Blackberry loyalists who have lambasted the company for leaving its loyal fans in the wild by releasing a touch-only handset before the QWERTY keyboard one.
At the moment, with the Z10’s sales flagging according to most reports, analysts expect the Q10 to do better than the former. There are virtually no high end QWERTY keyboard devices in the market, and even manufacturers like Motorola seem to have abandoned the QWERTY slider form factor. Let’s hope the Q10 can turn things around for the beleaguered Canadian manufacturer.
April 21, 2013 at 1:46 pm
The funniest thing ever is the insane push for pre-orders on the Q10. I’ve been holding out for the release of that model, but who in their right mind pre-orders a device with no specific release date? More to the point, who would commit to buying something they’re going to hold and use every day, without seeing one, or even having a single review from somebody who’s seen/held one?
These guys had better get their act together. For me, the Q10 is the last chance I’m giving them, and so far, it’s sounding like an afterthought. Especially if they can’t commit to a release date this late in the game.