[W Hoa]

BlackBerry's UK chief says there is insatiable demand for its new smartphones.

Sitting in a restauruant in Selfridges on the day the company's latest smartphone, the Q10, went on sale exclusively through the high-street retailer, Orr looked relaxed and wasn't in the mood to play down how many people are loooking to buy his new smartphone: "I think there will be a lot of insatiable demand initially."

A lot of that demand is down to the Q10 featuring the iconic BlackBerry physical keyboard which Orr says is "unique in the market" and "stands out from the crowd." And it certainly does, as virtually all other major manufacturers have in the last couple of years ditched physical keyboards entirely for an all touchscreen approach to typing.

Pent-up demand

However there remains a pent-up demand for such a keyboard among a very loyal cadre of BlackBerry users:

"One of the things we have had fed back from the Z10 is 'when is the keyboard coming?' All our marketing and execution on the Z10 has built a lot of demand for the Q10 and it's already loaded in the system. The initial approach is servicing the customers we know want the product."

According to a report in the Guardian on Monday morning, Orr was proved correct when talking about "insatiable demand." Selfridges said in a statement that the Q10 had been its fastest-selling consumer electronics product ever in its London, Birmingham and Manchester stores.

"Selfridges' initial stock of the BlackBerry Q10 sold out in stores within two hours. Stock of the BlackBerry Q10 is being continually delivered on the hour, every hour to keep up with demand."

BlackBerry Looking to Quench 'Insatiable Demand' for New Smartphones - IBTimes UK

[BergerKing]

Nice article, and thanks for quoting it!