On the back of disappointing financial results, BlackBerry is now selling Z10 and Q10 handsets directly from its website.
Anyone interested in a new all-touch Z10 smartphone, or Q10 with a QWERTY keyboard can pick one up without needing to go through a telco middle-man. BlackBerry will sell you the Z10 for $449 and the newer Q10 for $549.
Less surprising is the huge collection of accessories available through the same e-store, with batteries, cases, chargers and headsets all listed.
To get a job done right
It is a reasonably uncommon step for a smartphone manufacturer to sell its products directly to consumers, though it is a strategy that works well for Apple with the iPhone. Sadly, BlackBerry is probably not hoping to get a greater slice of the profits, the way Apple does, and is probably just hoping to break even.
The company announced it would write off $1-billion in stock that it could not sell through the usual channels of telcos and retailers, and that it would need to cut it's workforce by up to 40% over the next 12-months.
It's interesting that the price of these handsets remains as high as they do, given the circumstances. BlackBerry needs to attract new customers to the BlackBerry 10 platform, and nothing brings in new customers like cheap devices. It works for Google and Amazon, maybe it would work for BlackBerry too.
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