March 23, Beijing time: BlackBerry's latest Z10 smartphone was launched in the United States on Friday. However, unlike other smartphones on sale recently, the launch of Z10 in the United States has not caused consumers to queue up or even attracted much attention.
The Z10 is a full touch-screen phone that BlackBerry hopes to revive. The phone began selling in at t's and best buy's U.S. stores on Friday. Despite BlackBerry's huge investment in marketing, Z10 hasn't attracted much interest from users in these stores. As the first U.S. operator to launch Z10, at t did not carry out special publicity for Z10. In stores in New York and San Francisco, at t didn't display the Z10 on conspicuous shelves. In the two at t stores in Manhattan, at t does not set up a special logo or display Z10 in a larger area. Apple, on the other hand, still has its own display wall, which displays three different iPhones. At t stores in downtown San Francisco, when consumers ask to see the Z10, the salesperson goes to a corner of the store to pick up the phone. Sales staff said the phone was not placed on the counter when the store opened on Friday due to difficulties in setting up the booth. The Z10 was eventually placed in a counter in the corner, away from the huge advertising logo of the iPhone 5.
BlackBerry shares rose about 4% in early trading on Friday. On Friday afternoon, however, blackberry shares began to fall. BlackBerry shares on NASDAQ fell 7.7% to $14.91 as of 4 p.m. local time. People at at at t declined to comment on the news, while BlackBerry people have yet to comment and respond.
In two at t stores in Manhattan, less than 20 consumers came to learn about Z10 on Friday morning, hoping to replace their previous BlackBerry with Z10.