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BlackBerry Expects to Sell Q10 for $50 More Than iPhone

*from www.bloomberg.com, April 24, 2013 (To view original article click here.)

Take Away #1: BlackBerry (BBRY), the Canadian smartphone maker, expects to start selling its new Q10 keyboard-equipped model in the U.S. by the end of May for about $249.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The price of $249 for BlackBerry’s Q10 is $50 more than Apple Inc.’s top-selling iPhone 5.
  • AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have all confirmed they will sell the phone, said BlackBerry yesterday.
  • The suggested $249 price assumes that buyers will also sign up for a two-year contract.

Take Away #2: The move signals that BlackBerry won’t be competing with Apple on price, even as it tries to claw back market share lost to the iPhone and other smartphones.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The iPhone 5 with 16 gigabytes of memory sells for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
  • Pricing the Q10 above that level is probably a deliberate effort to target business users with deep pockets and expense accounts, said Anil Doradla of William Blair & Co.
  • “They’ve decided this is not going to be a mass appeal phone, but one targeted at road warriors,” said Doradla, who has a neutral rating on BlackBerry shares.
  • “It’s not the wrong thing to do,” said Doradla.

Take Away #3: BlackBerry’s stock climbed 0.6% to $14.42 at 9:59 a.m. in New York.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • BlackBerry shares have risen 21% this year on optimism that the new BlackBerry 10 lineup can fuel a comeback.

Take Away #4: BlackBerry is counting on the newer model to appeal to longtime users who want to stick with a physical keyboard, rather than an iPhone-like screen.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • The Q10 is the second phone in BlackBerry’s revamped lineup, following the touch-screen Z10 which sells for $199.99.

Take Away #5: The company, formerly known as Research In Motion Ltd. (BB), has steadily lost ground over the past three years to Apple’s iOS and Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Combined, those two platforms accounted for 91% of global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter, according to IDC.
  • BlackBerry’s share dropped to 3.2%.

Take Away #6: BlackBerry also said yesterday that Canadian carriers will begin selling the Q10 on May 1.

Key Facts and Figures:

  • Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI/B), BCE Inc. (BCE) and Telus Corp. (T), the country’s largest carriers, plan to offer the phone for C$199 ($194) on a three-year contract.
  • The Q10 also will be sold in Canada by retailers such as Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).

*To view original article from www.bloomberg.com click here.

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