It hasn’t been a week yet, but early reports show that BlackBerry (formally Research In Motion) is doing well in the U.K. Some early sales data suggests that the Waterloo company may be seeing strong demand for the Z10. Preorders of the Z10 in the United Arab Emirates and Canada have so far been “solid,” according to channel checks conducted by Jefferies & Co.
Peter Misek, a Jefferies analyst, claims there were lines outside of a number of U.K. retail stores, and that the white Z10 is in high demand. The white Z10 is so popular that it’s sold out in many places. The black version of the phone is still available, but in limited quantity.
“We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sell-outs, while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand,” Misek explained. “We estimate sell-in to be at least several hundred thousand units.”
This is very encouraging news for the struggling company, as it tussles to stay relevant in the smartphone market. The U.K. is one of the company’s biggest markets, but it isn’t as big as the U.S. market. However, these first week BlackBerry sales could be good news for the company when it launches in the U.S. next month. Misek explains why, saying
“To put [these early Z10 numbers] in perspective, the iPhone had first weekend sales of 5 million plus in the U.S.” He added “The U.S. is five times larger so continued strong sales could bode very well for Blackberry.”
It’s awesome to see BlackBerry do well, as it looks to supplant Microsoft for the number three spot in mobile. The company is off to a good start, lets see if it can carry this momentum to a much tougher market in the United States.
[via AllThingsD]