It appears Blackberry's recent slump in sales has affected the company a bit worse than anyone had thought. The long anticipated new operating BlackBerry 10 operating system and subsequent BlackBerry 10 powered phones the Z10 and A10 are failing to be real competitors on the smartphone market like Apple and Samsung. In an effort to increase sales, many retails have significantly slashed the price of the Z10 smartphone.
According to DailyTech, the device originally sold for $199 with a new two-year contract. Now Amazon is offering the Z10 for $49 along with a two year-contract. After Amazon lowered its price, Best Buy followed suit and now offers the Z10 for the same $49.99 price tag for the Verizon version. Thanks to a promotional deal offered by Best Buy, the AT&T version is available for free.
Without a contract the BlackBerry Z10 sells for about $700. The smartphone only came out in March of this year, so such a sudden and steep price drop is a clear indicator that the brand is in a dire situation as the device continues to undersell expectations. More popular smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 or iPhone 4 don't usually see such a steep price reduction until new devices are on the way. A spokesperson for BlackBerry maintains that "now is the right time ot adjust the price" as newer models are on the horizon.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal the spokesperson said "It's part of life cycle management to tier the pricing for current devices to make room for the next ones. This is just one element of our marketing strategy that will ensure we remain aggressive in a very competitive market landscape."
While Best Buy and Amazon lower the price of the BlackBerry Z10, Verizon and AT&T remain more optimistic about the phone's future and continue to keep the price at the $99.99 marker with a two-year activation.
