BlackBerry makes unlocked Z30s available in U.S.

Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry made a move Wednesday to expand U.S. distribution of its flagship Z30 handset.

With just one U.S. carrier on board with the Z30 smartphone in the U.S. market – Verizon Wireless – the handset’s penetration in the market is not deep. While BlackBerry may choose to focus on other markets for distribution, and has found success with other handset sin developing markets, growing its U.S. presence would also be strategic with many of the market and financial analysts whose comments can significantly impact BlackBerry’s performance in the markets being based in the U.S.

To address this challenge, if more carriers aren’t willing to carry the Z30 — BlackBerry’s 5” display all touch model – the vendor appears willing to take the handset to consumers directly.

BlackBerry has announced that customers in the U.S. can now purchase SIM-unlocked GSM models of the Z30 directly from BlackBerry for US$499 at ShopBlackBerry.com. The vendor notes the Z30 is compatible with GSM-based 4G LTE and 4G networks in the U.S. operated by AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as international carriers that operate GSM networks.

BlackBerry Z30
BlackBerry Z30

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Jeff Jedras
Jeff Jedras
A veteran technology and business journalist, Jeff Jedras began his career in technology journalism in the late 1990s, covering the booming (and later busting) Ottawa technology sector for Silicon Valley North and the Ottawa Business Journal, as well as everything from municipal politics to real estate. He later covered the technology scene in Vancouver before joining IT World Canada in Toronto in 2005, covering enterprise IT for ComputerWorld Canada. He would go on to cover the channel as an assistant editor with CDN. His writing has appeared in the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen and a wide range of industry trade publications.

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