BlackBerry, the company formerly known as RIM, today announced that the BlackBerry Z10, the company’s first BlackBerry 10 device, is already breaking records. The device was only just released yesterday in Canada, and the hometown crowd seems to have backed the Ontario-based smartphone manufacturer considerably.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins today announced that first-day sales of the Z10 in Canada were 50% better than for the launch of any other BlackBerry device. BlackBerry fans in the U.K., where the Z10 shipped on January 31, have stepped up as well, buying nearly three times as many Z10s during its first week on the market than they have any previous BlackBerry smartphone.
“In Canada, yesterday was the best day ever for the first day of a launch of a new BlackBerry smartphone,” said Heins. “In fact, it was more than 50% better than any other launch day in our history in Canada. In the UK, we have seen close to three times our best performance ever for the first week of sales for a BlackBerry smartphone.”
Of course, there is only one BlackBerry 10 smartphone model currently available, with the upcoming Q10 bringing a second physical keyboard option sometime this spring. RIM customers used to have the option of a wide range of BlackBerry choices. The reduction in options shows that handset manufacturers are truly beginning to embrace Apple’s “one phone fits all” philosophy.