[Jtaylor1986]

It was sold out in multiple stores when I tried to buy it for my carrier today...

[sleepngbear]

Everything I've read says that sales have been pretty brisk in Canada and the UK. So brisk, in fact, that a few analysts have upped their outlooks (and warning shorts) for BlackBerry -- at least for the short term -- due to better-than-expected early sales. So I'm inclined to ask, in what universe would that be considered lackluster?

[oilgeo10]

my first post here

just got a z10 white Rogers today. This phone is amazing and i am die hard android guy just switching to BB 10 ( i did have the bb torch for couple of months). I was the first to get to my Z10 from Rogers Plus Shop in Markham and there were atleast 5-6 ppl in line. I dont see why there would be lineup. There are like billion shops (Rogers/Bell/Futureshop/Bestbuy/Walmart etc) selling and its all spread out very close to each other. What the point standing in line when the the phone is sold out. Maybe iPhones are making ppl dumb :

You could be right on that, doesn't Apple only launch through their own stores at first, before the carriers get their devices? In Calgary, there are only 2 Apple stores so the lineups will always occur. For the Z10 launch, every big outlet and kiosk has some stock so the apparent low number of units at some of these places don't mean much. They will order more as they need them.

[BThunderW]

Unlike majority of Apple users, Blackberry users have real jobs that prevent us from camping out in front of stores for days at a time.

[Wiki Cydia]

Unlike majority of Apple users, Blackberry users have real jobs that prevent us from camping out in front of stores for days at a time.

The same thing was said at the time of the PlayBook launch. However, it soon became clear that the thing just wasn't selling. Time will tell.

[infamyx]

You could be right on that, doesn't Apple only launch through their own stores at first, before the carriers get their devices? In Calgary, there are only 2 Apple stores so the lineups will always occur. For the Z10 launch, every big outlet and kiosk has some stock so the apparent low number of units at some of these places don't mean much. They will order more as they need them.

No almost every carrier gets iPhones as well, granted the stock at carriers is minuscule compared to what is at Apple stores so unless you are on of ten people in line you most likely wont walk away with one. Not only that but when shortages hit Apple stores are the FIRST priority to get the phones.

Regardless this is about Z10 sales, and only 1 thing that will be important and that is how many units are being moved over a course period of time. There is going to be a huge surge initially since there is pent up demand so the faster it takes to hit that magic million mark the better it will be for BlackBerry and the viability of the platform. If it takes any longer than 2 weeks to hit 1 million units in BB's strongest markets they are going to have extremely massive problems on their hands.

Here's hoping they succeed, the more competition the better products we as consumers get.

[Maddog24g]

When the iphone came to verizon the media down here said the same thing. No lines = no sales. I didn't see any lines last september for the ip5 and I live in nyc. The best buy near me in queens had a closet full of ip5's in october when it was reported as sold out with multiple week backlogs on the apple site.

I have quite few iphone loving friends and none stood in line or had any trouble getting an ip5 in sept. Some people join the lines for the experience. I think it was a pretty good first day and they need to build on it.

Nobody stood in line for the sg3 and that sold very very well even though it also came out overseas before north america.

[bk1022]

... If it takes any longer than 2 weeks to hit 1 million units in BB's strongest markets they are going to have extremely massive problems on their hands. ...

Well, they need to hit about 12M units for the year minimum and the pop should be front-end loaded, so I hope they've beat this.

[playbookster]

I picked mine up at 6:50pm pacific at a rogers store, the girl there said all units were spoken for. 2 other people were in their picking up their pre orders

[southlander]

Not that we can know anything for sure at this point. But I specifically remember the same type of thing happening (press-wise) when the iPhone debuted on Verizon. There were stories about how there were no lines, etc. Turned out most folks had pre-ordered and the starting sales were in fact very good. Who knows.

[Whitecaps]

Today was definitely a good launch for Blackberry... I hope the weekends will get even better...

[anon(5624621)]

An alternative point of view:

BlackBerry Z10 shows some zip on opening day

[dphjeff]

Sounds like someone was reading the fiction section of the NY times.

[ad19]

While I was getting my unit set up at BestBuy in downtown Toronto, there we're probably 10 people that asked the rep if they could get a Z10 but they had sold out by the time I got there and only had pre-orders. Also, there was always a line of people trying to use the demo unit.

[gordo51]

A bit off topic but with all the mention of Apple Stores I thought I would mention the Apple Store in Nanaimo, BC, closed down last month after a few years run. Too busy today and tomorrow to look at a Z10 but hoping to try one Thursday. Will ask carriers about level of interest and sales.

[DatMisterB]

Tbh, these people are shorting the stock most likely. It seems like there is a community of people trying to spread negative biased stuff. I mean OK you can say you prefer another platform but I mean BB 10 is clearly not trash. It starts really strong and 2013 will be a BIG year for BBRY (OS10 Updates, Q10, PlayBook Update, Perhaps a new slider in development) Some bloomberg analysts gave the stock an F, it made me laugh.

[lotuslanderz]

Why am I not surprised who authored that article. Ian Austen, the laziest reporter (and I use that term loosely) at the NY Times. Honestly, I dont know why they use him for their token Canadian coverage. That was plain embarrassing to read.

Yeah, that article feels pretty darn slanted and not representative of what I'm seeing to be as a pretty successful launch day.

CrackBerry Nation.... go leave some tactful comments educating the author otherwise!

[katiepea]

quit complaining about it here, light this guys twitter up: https://twitter.com/ianrausten he wrote the article.

[.pinkberry]

Not sure why the author chose to moderate comments, but I'm loving the comments so far!

[Emu the Foo]

Good ting I'm not a times reader...

[Neely2005]

To all the Canadians out there...thoughts on the article? What have you observed in and around your areas??

Lackluster Start for BlackBerry's New Phone in Canada - NYTimes.com

I think that they should probably read this article from a very reputable Canadian newspaper:

BlackBerry 10 sales look set for record on first day in Canada | FP Tech Desk | Financial Post

[yasmar]

I just took a read through the 17 comments on the article - lots of good stuff there!

[BBMak]

hmm, lining up outside a sold out store is exactly what i would imagine an apple fan would do

[jarrodmeyer]

The REAL NYT article, the one that mattered, wasn't buried three levels deep on some bit.blog site with zero comments. It was here and written by David Pogue. And it has 176 comments. So take it with a grain of salt.

What? Wait! So the same journal has published two contradicting stories?! Classic faux pas.

[Dapper37]

The thing about lines in Canada is, their not going to let their kind sit in a line for no reason!
1. The store opens
2. Attendees count the product
3. Next count the customers
4. Inform the unlucky of their options....
Their not going to let people stand around for nothing! Including a possible photo op.
Sales seem good. I'll wait and see for sure.