BlackBerry Z10 Subsidy Increases As Sales Suffer

The BlackBerry Z10 is the one phone that aims to revive the company and increase its market share, but seeing as how BlackBerry suffered a loss last quarter, they're going to have to pull out the big guns. A handful of major carriers and retailers have discounted the Z10 to as low as $49 in order to increase sales for the new BlackBerry 10 device.

It's only been four months since the Z10's release, but it seems BlackBerry has waited long enough for sales to increase, and they're wanting units out the door ASAP. Both Amazon and Best Buy have discounted the phone to a measly $49 after signing a two-year contract. That's a whopping 75% off of the original $199 price tag.

As for the carriers, AT&T and Verizon are now selling the device for only $99 – half off of the original price. If you're looking for the best deal, hitting up either Amazon or Best Buy would be the best option, obviously, but $99 is still a decent price for a phone that's only four months old.

Off-contract prices for the phone are remaining the same, however, and it doesn't look like T-Mobile is offering any kind of discount on the Z10 either. According to the Wall Street Journal, a BlackBerry spokesperson said that the price cut is merely just a "part of life cycle management to tier the pricing for current devices to make room for the next ones," and "now is the right time to adjust the price."

Four months does seem a bit early to start bringing the price down on devices, but does this mean we'll see a second-generation Z10 sooner than we would normally expect? The company is still pumping out updates for the Z10, including BB 10.1, as well as what looks to be BB 10.2 that was leaked earlier this month.

VIA: Wall Street Journal