So, one of the first countries that BlackBerry chose to launch the new Z10 was India. Too bad then that the excitement for Indians seemed to end here because of the high price quoted for the deivce- Rs 44,000.
Though it is expected to be available at around Rs 41,000 by the time it hits the stores, there was a lot of exasperation around the price point.
The price is high, by any standards. The device, by itself, could be great, but for a company trying to regain foothold, the pricing is surprising.
Several BlackBerry users have switched to other devices and are unlikely to go back to a BlackBerry unless the device is really good and the price reasonable. The Z10 scores high on quality, but slips badly on the price front.
The opinion is similar across all social networks. While a BlackBerry user in Twitter said it was not really a good “entry/recovery strategy” by the company, another said the phone was too confusing to operate even for those who could afford it.
Many erstwhile BlackBerry users are also not happy that the first phone is a touchscreen-only phone. “What is BlackBerry without a keypad?” tweeted an exasperated user. The QWERTY phone that is due for launch in March is also likely to be priced high. Even die-hard BlackBerry users are now wondering whether it is really worthwhile switching to the new BlackBerry 10 series.