In a round of further bad news for BlackBerry, T-Mobile has decided not to offer BlackBerry smartphones in brick and mortar stores anymore. The decision comes just days after BlackBerry announced huge losses and its intention to lay off 40% of its workforce.
Customers looking to purchase a BlackBerry smartphone on T-Mobile will be in for an unfortunate surprise as according to the network the new Z10 and Q10, along with the older BB7 smartphones will no longer be available in physical stores. T-Mobile has cited the lack of demand from consumers as one of the primary reasons behind this decision. According to David Carey,*executive vice president for corporate services, it is no longer efficient for the network to keep BlackBerry smartphones in the retail distribution system.
The news comes just days after BlackBerry announced that it would be laying off 4500 workers from all over the company in a bid to reduce costs. Furthermore the CEO of BlackBerry Thorsten Heins stated that the company would be moving away from the consumer business to focus more on businesses. We’re not sure if the announcement from BlackBerry had anything to do with the decision from T-Mobile, but it doesn’t bode well for BlackBerry in the long term.
T-Mobile isn’t completely giving up on BlackBerry though. They will continue to*ship in-store and online orders directly to buyers as David Carey stated that the majority of BlackBerry buyers are businesses who do not make buying decisions in stores. Keeping phones available in brick and mortar stores under prevailing circumstances would be a waste of shelf space. Instead T-Mobile will use the same space to promote phones that are high in demand from consumers.
BlackBerry recently announced the Z30 smartphone which comes with a 5-inch screen. We’re not sure if it will be enough to persuade T-Mobile into reversing its decision or not, but if the phone has any chance of succeeding on the network, it won’t be able to do so without any physical presence in stores. AT&T and Verizon have not commented on their future plans regarding BlackBerry, and will continue to offer phones in stores.
Source:*Reuters
T-Mobile isn’t completely giving up on BlackBerry though. They will continue to*ship in-store and online orders directly to buyers as David Carey stated that the majority of BlackBerry buyers are businesses who do not make buying decisions in stores. Keeping phones available in brick and mortar stores under prevailing circumstances would be a waste of shelf space. Instead T-Mobile will use the same space to promote phones that are high in demand from consumers.
BlackBerry recently announced the Z30 smartphone which comes with a 5-inch screen. We’re not sure if it will be enough to persuade T-Mobile into reversing its decision or not, but if the phone has any chance of succeeding on the network, it won’t be able to do so without any physical presence in stores. AT&T and Verizon have not commented on their future plans regarding BlackBerry, and will continue to offer phones in stores.
Source:*Reuters
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