Between multiple simultaneous press conferences and sinking funds into a questionable Super Bowl commercial, BlackBerry is keen to make sure that its BB10-powered hardware is still on your mind. Really, the only thing that BlackBerry hasn’t been very comfortable talking about in public is when exactly the Z10 will make its long-awaited U.S. debut.
Those are announcements best left to carriers, and thankfully they’re not immune to leaks — according to a handset launch calendar obtained by TmoNews, BlackBerry’s Z10 will make its T-Mobile debut on March 27. Sadly, the calendar lacks pricing details, but I wouldn’t expect T-Mobile to stray too far (if at all) from the $199 price point Verizon has already advertised.
Sorry, BlackBerry fanatics — it was no secret that BlackBerry was eying a March launch window for the Z10’s domestic debut, but a launch late in the month may only making that sense of gadget-centric yearning even harder to bear. Meanwhile, the Z10 has already launched in the U.K. (where it seems to be doing rather well), and our neighbors in Canada will be able to pick one up come February 5 (i.e. tomorrow).
While at the company’s New York launch event, CEO Thorsten Heins pegged the Z10’s domestic launch delay on the extensive testing process that carriers are putting it through. Though just about every major carrier in the U.S. has pledged to support the Waterloo-based company’s new hardware, there’s still no word on when they plan to push them out the door. That hasn’t stopped them from talking about their plans in broad strokes though — Verizon will exclusively carry the white Z10 spotted before the platform’s launch, and Sprint plans to skip the Z10 in favor of the slightly more traditional Q10 when it launches some time in April.
Turns out, the 27th could be a very big day for any T-Mo customer looking to pick up some shiny new hardware — other releases slated for that day include LTE-friendly versions of the Galaxy S III and the carrier’s Sonic mobile hotspot.
