BlackBerry Z10 UK sales off to strong start says analyst

The BlackBerry Z10 is reportedly selling well in the UK, according to industry checks made by Jefferies analyst Peter Misek.

In a note to investors, Misek said some retailers have already sold all their stock of the flagship BlackBerry 10 handset over the opening weekend and the white version in particular is proving very popular.

‘We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sell-outs while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand,’ claimed the report.

The BlackBerry Z10 has only been out a few days, but the BlackBerry brand has traditionally had quite a firm foothold in the UK smartphone market and Misek estimated that so far sales have hit ‘at least several hundred thousand units.’

He believes this could be reflected well in the US market with the population being around five times larger but suggested sales would need to remain at a similar level of strength for this to help BlackBerry’s fortunes.

BlackBerry (formerly RIM) certainly seems to have impressed plenty of critics with its launch model and the new BlackBerry 10 software which it runs. Many had viewed BlackBerry 10 as the company’s last chance to make a comeback and the initial reception appears to be largely positive.

With Misek’s report this is also being reflected in early sales figures, so consumers too seem to be happy with BlackBerry’s new direction.Time will tell, however, whether sales can remain strong.

With releases from Apple, HTC and Samsung just around the corner, Google’s I/O event in May and a torrent of new hardware expected at Mobile World Congress in late February there’s plenty of competition to fight off.

Our review of the BlackBerry Z10 is currently in the works and we’re hoping to have t done fairly shortly. In the meantime though, check out our hands-on first impressions.