SIM-Free BlackBerry 10 Smartphone To Cost £480?

A leaked screenshot purporting to be from Carphone Warehouse’s internal database suggests that anyone wanting to get their hands on a SIM-free BlackBerry 10 smartphone will have to pay at least £480.

The alleged screenshot shows a listing for a ‘BlackBerry Z 10 White’ with a model number of ‘BLAZ10WH1’, vairants of which have been shown in previous leaks.

BlackBerry Z10 is believed to be the name of one of the first smartphones running BlackBerry 10, which are due to be unveiled by RIM on Wednesday.

BlackBerry Z 10 gets cheaper apps

Ahead of the launch, RIM has outlined the first of a number of planned pricing updates for apps on the recently-rebranded BlackBerry World. Currently the lowest pricing tier on the UK store is £1, but this will be reduced to £0.75. The price change will be completely automatic and will not impact the availability of content to customers.

“This price tier update includes updated currency exchange rates and VAT requirements,” said RIM. “These updates will help to position your content items to be more competitive and attractive to customers in the UK and Eurozone markets. The goal of this adjustment is to ensure prices are in line with currency fluctuations and ensure content within BlackBerry World is competitive.”

The perpetually delayed BlackBerry 10 operating system is seen as vital to RIM’s future after seeing its share of the smartphone market eroded by rivals such as Apple and Samsung.

The struggling Canadian manufacturer has been keen to stress its security and administration tools in an effort to retain its enterprise customers and last week released the latest version of its mobile management platform, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.

However RIM is also eager to attract consumers to BlackBerry 10 and has announced that it will show a 30-second advert during the Super Bowl on Sunday, demonstrating its wares in front of what is traditionally one of the largest US television audiences of the year.

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