BlackBerry Q10’s Rs.45,000 price tag may keep buyers away

BlackBerry has launched the much-awaited Q10 in India. As expected, the new BlackBerry Q10 has both touch-screen and QWERTY keypad which is different from other high-end smartphones that are only touch-screen.

While introducing the product, Blackberry Managing Director for India, Sunil Lalvani said: “BlackBerry Q10 is a premium phone for power users who have to handle multiple calls, send out numerous mail and look for high quality.”

Despite it being an outstanding smartphone, BlackBerry Q10 may not see many takers in India, which is an emerging market and a price-sensitive country when it comes to buying gadgets.

In addition to this, there is a plethora of smartphones available in the market with great specifications and features at much lower price. Yes, BlackBerry Q10’S Rs.45,000 seems exorbitant compared to similar kind of devices from rivals like Samsung, Apple, Nokia and HTC.

At the launch event, the Canada-based smartphone maker said, “We have done a global survey. There are many high end people who still prefer QWERTY keypad for typing. They don’t enjoy typing on glass and this phone is for that class.”

QWERTY keypad coupled with touch-screen is the forte of BlackBerry Q10 and the company seems to be very clear about its target groups-the high end consumers.

Owing to the fact that India has become a very challenging and competitive market for handset makers, at the Rs.4500, buyers expect the iPhone or something really different and bigger.

Well aware of the price factor in the Indian market, BlackBerry is wooing the BlackBerry Q10 buyers with a monthly installment scheme spread across 9 months which is applicable on other devices built on its BB 10 platform. It is also offering the additional benefit of 1 year subscription of enterprise mobility management services for free to the corporate customers.