BlackBerry Q10 sellouts in Toronto, the UK: Analyst

BlackBerry’s Q10 smartphone, the first based on the company’s BlackBerry 10 platform to feature a traditional BlackBerry keyboard, has sold out at retailers in Canada and the UK, according to a leading analyst.

According to Reuters, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek says initial sales for the smartphone appear strong based on retail checks at Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada, along with Carphone Warehouse, Vodafone, and Orange in Britain.

“Our checks indicate broad sellouts with generally limited stock otherwise,” Misek states.

“Based on our store checks, the BlackBerry Q10 has been selling extremely well and has been sold out or seeing limited availability in Toronto and across the UK.”

The news confirms earlier reports of strong sales for the Q10, with major UK retail chain Selfridges describing the Q10 as its London, Birmingham and Manchester stores’ fastest-selling consumer electronics product ever.

“Selfridges’ initial stock of the BlackBerry Q10 sold out in stores within two hours,” the store said in a statement last week.

“Stock of the BlackBerry Q10 is being continually delivered on the hour, every hour to keep up with demand.”

Another major UK retailer, Carphone Warehouse, organised separate queues for consumer and small business customers, with some small business customers purchasing dozens of the devices at a time.

Meanwhile, Misek is also bullish about the prospects for BlackBerry’s mobile device management (MDM) software for Android and Apple iOS devices, which allows enterprises to control access to secure sensitive company data on its employees’ bring your own device (BYOD) smartphones.

“We think BlackBerry’s MDM software will gain traction throughout this year and see a significant ramp in revenues next year,” Misek states.

BlackBerry’s MDM software will face competition from Samsung’s Knox software, due later this year.

Samsung Knox, which features a BlackBerry-style secure work environment known as the Knox Security Container, with its own home screen, launcher, applications and widgets, was supposed to launch with the Samsung Galaxy S4 but was delayed for further testing.

BlackBerry 10, along with Apple iOS and Google Android, also gained security clearance from the Pentagon late last week.