Canadian retailer WirelessWave says BlackBerry Z10 demand is real

Who do we believe? One one hand, we have a Canadian retailer saying that the BlackBerry Z10 was its most popular handset in February and was a very hot item on launch day. On the other hand, we have brokerage analysts saying that it is a trick and thanks to the use of small inventory, a buzz was created by using manufactured sell outs.

Now it is not as though either side doesn't have a particular ax to grind. You did read where we said that the retailer involved, WirelessWave, is a Canadian firm, didn't you? And most of the analysts who have tried to prove that BlackBerry used sleight of hand to produce the sell outs, have been talking down the stock since it started to rise before the introduction of BlackBerry 10. So the truth is, we don't know the truth. Other analysts on the Seeking Alpha investment web site have been adhering to the idea that heavy demand has been seen for the new BlackBerry model.

We should get a truer picture of what's what when the BlackBerry Z10 launches in the U.S. next month. Even then, many believe that U.S. BlackBerry fans, more accustomed to that supercalifragilistic physical QWERTY on devices like the BlackBerry Bold 9930, will hold out for the more familiar form factor of the BlackBerry Q10. And while this is going on, as we told you, Steve Wozniak thinks BlackBerry will end up as another Android handset manufacturer.

Meanwhile, Canadian retailer WirelessWave did say that the BlackBerry Z10 launch day sales set a new record for the store and noted that, "We are thrilled with the launch success of the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in Canada. In fact, it was more than 50% better than any other launch day in our history in Canada." The device remains the top selling model for the entire month of February at the chain.


source: Crackberry (1), (2)