Keyboard BlackBerry's debut in U.S. may be months away
BY Staff and Wire Reports
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
2/06/13 at 2:09 AM
A modern BlackBerry with a physical keyboard might not arrive in the U.S. until May or June, a month or two behind other parts of the world, the CEO of the smartphone maker says.
Although CEO Thorsten Heins said the release date will depend on each wireless provider, he said the physical keyboard version, the BlackBerry Q10, will likely come out eight to 10 weeks after a carrier releases a model with only a touch screen, the BlackBerry Z10.
The Z10 is expected in the U.S. in mid-March, so eight to 10 weeks brings the U.S. date for the Q10 to mid-May to early June.
"We're trying to get it as close as we can" to the projected release date, Heins said.
Both models are part of an attempt at a comeback after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple's 2007 release of the iPhone.
The company promised a new system called BlackBerry 10 to catch up, using technology it got through its 2010 purchase of QNX Software Systems. But it has taken more than two years to unveil new phones that are redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding.
Associated Images:
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins: "We're trying to get it as close as we can" to the Q10 model's projected release date.
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