BlackBerry Z10 Sales Estimates Cut Significantly

While the BlackBerry Z10 released among a crowd of curious and eager onlookers, most of which were excited to see BlackBerry's newest offerings, the general public doesn't seem to be too crazy about the new Z10 according to Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley, who cut the sales forecast of BlackBerry's new smartphone from 1.75 million units to just 300,000.

Walkley trimmed his estimates based on mixed initial sales of the Z10 along with a later-than-expected launch in the US. Currently, the Z10 is only available in Canada and the UK, with a US launch on all major carriers sometime next month. However, once the Z10 launches in the US, Walkley isn't expecting a lot of reception, saying that he anticipates carriers to not have large inventories of the device.

BlackBerry announced the Z10 earlier this month on February 5, where the company also introduced the Q10, which is another new touchscreen smartphone but with a physical keyboard on board. These two phones, along with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, are the company's answers to moving their business forward and attempt to bounce back from six straight quarters of losses.

Of course, Walkley mentioned that BlackBerry still faces stiff competition from iOS and Android this year. Both Apple and Samsung will most likely launch new smartphones this year: the rumored iPhone 5S and the Galaxy S IV, both of which are said to be arriving with some pretty mean features on board.

[via Investors.com]