BlackBerry Releases: Z10 Comes to T-Mobile and AT&T; WhatsApp in BB10
The US is the next in line for BlackBerry releases, specifically among two top carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile.
BlackBerry Z10 is set to hit stores carried by T-Mobile on March 11 for $249.99, but mostly for business customers.
EndGadget reports that the date for customer pricing and availability will be set on a later date.
Another carrier, AT&T is also gearing up for a March release, but a more than a week later, at March 22. TechCrunch adds that Verizon might follow suit for an April release.
Sprint, on the other hand, would not carry the Z10, but opt to wait it out until the release of the Q10, BlackBerry's other handset, which has a physical keyboard this time.
Here comes WhatsApp and other app news
WhatsApp users now have a reason to see the BlackBerry Z10 in a new light. According to NDTV, WhatsApp will be making its debut in BlackBerry World this week.
In a tweet confirmed by BlackBerry social media manager Alex Kinsella, it said, "Prediction for next week-You'll be downloading WhatsApp on your #BlackBerryZ10." But according to reports, the tweet has already been taken down.
WhatsApp has already been doing a round of talks with BlackBerry, and has already previously agreed upon a March release of a native app. Whether it pushes through this week is something worth waiting for.
What's more, The Guardian Nigeria reports that BlackBerry is in talks of a partnership with the Lagos State Government, given the track record of over 250 apps that have been built for BlackBerry 10 in Nigeria.
It seems like one of BlackBerry's strategies to keep up with the app game.
"There are lots of freelance developers and what they do is to develop what comes to them naturally and what they think the market will need," said Adebiyi Mabadeje, Commissioner of Science and Technology, to PunchNG.com