Stephen Bates confusingly states there will be no pre-pay BlackBerry 10 devices until 2014
BlackBerry managing director for Europe Stephen Bates has revealed that they will not be bringing any BlackBerry 10 prepay devices to market until 2014, Mobile Today has reported.
Speaking to Mobile, Bates said that BlackBerry would be focussing prepay sales on its BlackBerry 7 and 7.1 devices.
“With BB10 we are trying to establish a new platform. We are intending to expand the portfolio towards the mid-tier in 2013 and entry-level phones will come next year.”
Considering the fact that you can get the Z10 on PAYG (pre-pay) on both Orange and Vodafone at the moment, for around £450, this statement is confusing to say the least.
Bates also explained that the decision to release the Z10 first was in order to emphasise the innovative nature of the new operating system.
He commented:
“With the touch-screen handset, it was a case that that device was the best way to articulate the cinematic experience across the screen, the power of the applications, the power of browsing and showing off the innovation.”
At his level, he should be clarifying things. We know that there is going to be no mid or low end BB10 devices for a while, which is not really surprising.
I guess I understand the confusion. Most pre-pay devices are entry-level sets that are packaged together to provide the consumer with a fast and inexpensive way to get connected.
I’m sure he meant it in the perspective of low-range devices