Love it or hate it, the BlackBerry Z10 has certainly managed to grab attention. However, getting one is a pricey affair. We’ve already seen how the Z10 stacks up against competition spec-for-spec, and at Rs 43,490, it’s not something we can wholeheartedly recommend. Of course, fans or those who want to stick with BlackBerry will beg to differ. And they have.
According to our grey market and retail sources, the BlackBerry Z10 is quite the hot seller at the moment. The retailers claim to have been selling around two to three Z10s a day consistently, prior to the official launch on February 25. However, post the launch, the phone’s sales figures have picked up even more. In the last couple of days, retailers have moved an average of 9-10 Z10 handsets with bill and warranty. They confirmed that the demand has always been there for the handset, which is in line with the sales reports of the phone in the UK and Canada. The sudden increase in sales is due to the official launch, which allowed consumers to buy the phone with after-sales service protection.
We also spoke to a few retailers listed on BlackBerry's official site to get an idea of the sales numbers there. Go Digital, at Charni Road, said the stocks have just been replenished and in the last couple of days, they have sold an average of 20 handsets a day. The store also informed us that at this rate, the stock wouldn't last beyond the weekend as the next batch of Z10s is only scheduled to arrive in 7-8 days. However, the store also said that this is generally the case for new handsets and sales will stagnate once the Z10 has been around in the market for a month or so.
Another retailer in Thane, Paragon, mentioned that since the handset has arrived freshly, sales figures have not yet reached their peak. In fact, the store has been inundated with inquiries about the phone much before its official launch. At the moment, though, the store is moving three units a day for the last couple of days, with one being sold this morning.
At present, it looks like the high price of the handset has not deterred buyers. In fact, going by the figures of other handsets in similar price range, the Z10 is the better seller. Retailers report that only one or two iPhone5s are being sold every day. The numbers are worse for handsets like the HTC Butterfly, which is not being sold with any sort of regularity. Retailers informed us that they do not get regular requests for the HTC Butterfly, going so far as to say sales of that particular smartphone are negligible. The only phones which come close to matching the Z10's sales are Samsung's duo – the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note. That's probably due to a recent drop in their price.
What makes the Z10 such a hot seller, despite its high price? Perhaps it's explained by the fact that BB fans have had to wait so long for a BlackBerry handset that is on par with Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 in terms of features and functionality. Whatever the reason, the Z10 has exceeded our initial expectations and BlackBerry may have something to cheer about in a country with many BlackBerry loyalists. Of course, we are yet to see whether this sales momentum keeps up beyond these early days.
Would love to here from you...