Its no secret that the smartphones that BlackBerry released this year, the ones that were supposed to turn its fortunes around, haven’t been able to make a significant mark in the global smartphone market up till now. The first device to come with its new BlackBerry 10 platform was the Z10, released back in January. BlackBerry followed it up with the Q10, then the Q5 and most recently its very first phablet, the Z30. Sales haven’t been great and most retailers have significantly cut prices to clear out inventory. Verizon and AT&T too have done something along the same lines, Big Red now offers the BlackBerry Z10 free while AT&T wants $0.49 for it, though both require customers to sign a two year contract.
Originally, when it was released back in January, the Z10 cost $199 on contract. A few months down the line, the price was discounted to $99 on contract. Even that didn’t seem to have done the trick, because both carriers are now giving it away for virtually nothing, all that the customer needs to do is commit to a two year contract, which they would have to had to do even if they paid the full $199 for the device. While AT&T and Verizon look to clear their inventory of the device, they’re still sticking with the ailing Canadian manufacturer. T-Mobile has already stopped selling BlackBerry devices in its retail stores across the U.S.
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