BlackBerry Z10 now $99.99 with a 3-year contract in Canada

With the U.S. launch of the BlackBerry Z10just days away, what can we discern from the price cut in the manufacturer's own backyard that drops the price of the first BlackBerry 10 model to $99.99 with a 3-year contract? The original price for the phone was $149.99 with that three-year lock-up, and then Rogers took $10 off which was followed by the other Canadian carriers. The new sub-$100 price is available from Rogers and Virgin with Bell cutting an additional nickel off the price. We'd expect to see all of the other Canadian operators pull out their price-cutting scissors and match the new low price.

So what does this say about demand for the phone? It also makes us take a more analytical look at the announcement that BlackBerry is offering its Secure Work Space to iOS and Android users. Using its expertise in the enterprise to offer secure solutions to iOS and Android sounds like we are about to see BlackBerry concentrate on licensing software. Offering BlackBerry Balance as a BYOD solution for iOS and Android allows BlackBerry to continue to have a stake in enterprise-related mobile even if its own hardware isn't moving.

Some will argue that the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 on AT&T this coming Friday will be the true test to see if the company can survive. Others point to the QWERTY equipped BlackBerry Q10 with that iconic physical QWERTY and say that we must wait for that device to launch to get the whole picture. Regardless, this price cut, coming so close to the U.S. launch, cannot bode well for BlackBerry.

source: Bell, Rogers, VirginMobile via MobileSyrup