Solavei, a no-contract mobile service provider,
announced early availability of BlackBerry’s much-awaited new
smartphone, already released in Canada and Britain but not expected on
the wider American market until mid-March.
“We believe in giving
our members access to the latest phones and wireless capabilities,” said
CEO and founder Ryan Wuerch in a press release.
Wuerch said Solavei is the first carrier in the U.S. to offer the phone, for sale on the website of its retail partner GSM Nation
for $999. It’s a hefty increase over prices in Canada, where phones are
going for about $150 with a three-year contract or about $650 outright.
The phones went on
sale through GSM Nation at 8 a.m. Monday morning. The company didn’t yet
have numbers available on how many sold but spokesperson Jason Genthner
said there was a “flurry of activity” on the site.
BlackBerry unveiled its new operating system and two handsets, the Z10 and the Q10, on Jan. 30 in what’s widely seen as a make-or-break product launch for the Waterloo, Ont.-based company.
BlackBerry, which
changed its name from Research in Motion last month, saw its market
share slip over the years as it worked on upgrades amid stiff
competition from rivals like Apple’s iPhone. Some fear the gap time
between the launch and market availability in the U.S. will derail the
company’s comeback plans.
Shares fell more than 6
per cent in New York trading on Monday after Home Depot announced it
was swapping 10,000 employees BlackBerry phones for iPhones, Bloomberg reported.
BlackBerry reported strong sales of the touch-screen Z10 model
in Canada, though there were few lineups for the new phone when it went
on sale Feb. 5. Telecom provider Bell said advance orders exceeded any
previous BlackBerry model and there was intense interest. BlackBerry
also reported strong sales in Britain.
The Q10, which has a traditional BlackBerry keypad, won’t go on sale until later this year.
Solavei offers $49 (U.S.) unlimited phone plans with voice, data and text.
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