One carrier says that the Q10 units he ordered were eventually sent back to an equipment vendor after no demand for the smartphone. August 29, 2013 6:19 AM PDT The wildly unpopular BlackBerry Q10. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) BlackBerry's Q10 smartphone was supposed to bring the old days of BlackBerry's physical keyboard into today's touchscreen-obsessed world. But according to a new report, few people actually cared. The BlackBerry Q10 has experienced abysmal sales since its time on store shelves, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. One phone retailer, who sells handsets in the midwest across 16 stores, told the Journal that he "saw virtually no demand for the Q10," adding that the few he sold across his locations were eventually returned by customers. Nearly all of his stock was returned to his equipment vendor, according to the Journal. Related stories BlackBerry looks to spin off Messenger division -- report Samsung Galaxy phones to get BlackBerry Messenger 'soon' Sprint's BlackBerry Q10 arrives Aug. 30 for $200 Canadian government has 'close eye' on BlackBerry BlackBerry's encryption patents could be its saving grace An unidentified executive at a Canadian carrier was similarly down on the Q10, telling the Journal that the smartphone "just hit the ground and died." BlackBerry, which is headquartered in Canada, had hoped that its home country would drive strong sales for the Q10. BlackBerry earlier this year announced the Q10 alongside the Z10. The latter, which came with a virtual keyboard, was first to hit store shelves. BlackBerry's Q10 was next. BlackBerry had hoped that the Z10 would appeal to consumers buying touchscreen-equipped devices, while the Q10 could tap into BlackBerry's QWERTY-obsessed market. It appears, however, that neither device proved all that popular. BlackBerry has not publicly broken out device sales, so there's no telling how many Q10 handset it has sold. Still, it doesn't sound very good.
One carrier says that the Q10 units he ordered were eventually sent back to an equipment vendor after no demand for the smartphone.
The wildly unpopular BlackBerry Q10.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
BlackBerry's Q10 smartphone was supposed to bring the old days of BlackBerry's physical keyboard into today's touchscreen-obsessed world. But according to a new report, few people actually cared.
The BlackBerry Q10 has experienced abysmal sales since its time on store shelves, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. One phone retailer, who sells handsets in the midwest across 16 stores, told the Journal that he "saw virtually no demand for the Q10," adding that the few he sold across his locations were eventually returned by customers. Nearly all of his stock was returned to his equipment vendor, according to the Journal.
Related stories
- BlackBerry looks to spin off Messenger division -- report
- Samsung Galaxy phones to get BlackBerry Messenger 'soon'
- Sprint's BlackBerry Q10 arrives Aug. 30 for $200
- Canadian government has 'close eye' on BlackBerry
- BlackBerry's encryption patents could be its saving grace
An unidentified executive at a Canadian carrier was similarly down on the Q10, telling the Journal that the smartphone "just hit the ground and died." BlackBerry, which is headquartered in Canada, had hoped that its home country would drive strong sales for the Q10.
BlackBerry earlier this year announced the Q10 alongside the Z10. The latter, which came with a virtual keyboard, was first to hit store shelves. BlackBerry's Q10 was next. BlackBerry had hoped that the Z10 would appeal to consumers buying touchscreen-equipped devices, while the Q10 could tap into BlackBerry's QWERTY-obsessed market. It appears, however, that neither device proved all that popular.
BlackBerry has not publicly broken out device sales, so there's no telling how many Q10 handset it has sold. Still, it doesn't sound very good.
