The first keyboard-equipped BlackBerry sporting the company’s radically new operating system is hitting U.S. stores this week.
T-Mobile USA will start selling the BlackBerry Q10 on Wednesday. Verizon Wireless started taking pre-orders last week and says it will ship by Thursday.
AT&T will start taking orders Wednesday. Neither Verizon nor AT&T have said when they will have the phones in stores.
“AT&T was the first carrier to launch BlackBerry smartphones and services in the U.S. and was the first in the U.S. to launch the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. Building on our strong BlackBerry heritage, we are excited to announce that beginning June 5 customers can pre-order the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone for $199.99,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president-Devices, AT&T. “The BlackBerry Q10 extends the new BlackBerry 10 experience to customers with the physical keyboard they love and the secure platform they expect, all on the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network.”
The last of the major national carriers, Sprint Nextel, has said it will carry the phone this summer.
The new operating system is meant to help the BlackBerry catch up to the iPhone and Android phones in terms of touchscreen capabilities and third-party software.
Research In Motion Ltd., the Canadian company behind the BlackBerry, launched a keyboard-less phone with the new operating system earlier this year.
The company has a research and development operation in the Triangle area.
