On Wednesday, BlackBerry (formerly known as Research in Motion or RIM) announced two new additions to its portfolio of smartphones. The Z10 and Q10 are the first to ship with BlackBerry's new BlackBerry 10 OS installed. Speaking at a press event in New York City, CEO Thorsten Heins revealed that the Z10, which is launching first, would come to major US carriers sometime in March. Canadians will get the device much earlier, with Canadian carriers selling the phone from next Tuesday, February 5. But the first to get their hands on BB10 and the Z10 are those in the United Kingdom.
O2 is offering the Z10 for free on a £36-per-month contract, while the price for the device off contract is £479. Vodafone is a bit pricier, at least in terms of contracts. If you want the device free, you better be prepared to sign a £46-per-month contract. The network doesn't seem to be offering the Z10 on an off-contract or Pay As You Go basis. Three UK has the BlackBerry Z10 listed on its 'Coming Soon' page but there's no indication as to when that might be. If you're looking to get the Z10 through EE, you won't get it for free no matter what you're willing to pay. The carrier is charging a minimum of £29 for the device (even on the £61-per-month contract). You'll pay £199.99 for the device if you're signing a £31 per month contract. EE subsidiaries T-Mobile and Orange are both offering it for free provided you're willing to sign a two-year contract with at least a £46- or £36-per-month plan (respectively). Carphone Warehouse is also selling the phone, on any of the above carriers.
The Z10 packs a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, a 4.2-inch display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on board storage, an 8-megapixel camera in the back, a 2-megapixel camera up front. Be sure to check out our live blog of the event, as well as our unboxing, and our first impressions of the device.
A Brief Look at the Technical Specs of BlackBerry Z10, Q10
BB10 Interview With the QNX Boss of BlackBerry OS
Check out our hands-on with BlackBerry 10 on the Z10.
Interview With the BlackBerry Z10, Q10 Industrial Designer
A Complete Video Walkthrough of BlackBerry 10 OS