Must Read: Google Glass jailbreak: Let the evil commence

Topic: Mobility

Unnamed BlackBerry partner purchases 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices

Summary: BlackBerry is getting ready to show up at US wireless carriers so it is great news for BlackBerry to see one of their partners place the largest order in their history today.

Matthew Miller

By for Smartphones and Cell Phones |

Unnamed BlackBerry partner purchases 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices
Image credit: BlackBerry

The folks at CrackBerry.com just posted a press release from BlackBerry stating that one of their partners just placed an order for 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices, with shipments to start immediately. This is the largest single purchase order in BlackBerry's history. It's now time to play the guessing game to see if anyone can figure out who made the purchase.

My first thought was that Kevin Michaluk may have made the purchase in honor of my birthday today so that I could hand them out to my closest million friends, but that is not the case. It will be interesting to hear if it is a government agency or private company who made the purchase. I am also curious to hear if they are an existing BlackBerry customer, are moving from another platform, or just a newer company making their first large smartphone purchase.

I wonder if wireless carriers can be considered as one of the purchasers here. Note that they do say "partner" in the press release and not "customer". This makes me even more curious about the deal here. If it is a carrier partner, such as AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, or T-Mobile, then they still need to sell those to customers. Even if it is a carrier partner though, 1 million devices is quite a vote of confidence in the new OS.

This appears to be great news for BlackBerry, especially with the US release just around the corner.

BlackBerry also issued another press release today for the release of WhatsApp Messenger for BB10. I have tried it on other smartphone before, but don't have enough friends using it yet to be very useful. BlackBerry has been talking about this release quite a bit, which is interesting given they already have their own BlackBerry Messenger client on BB10 phones. This does help people who use WhatsApp on other platforms make the move the BB10 though so I think that is the focus.

Related stories

Topics: Mobility, BlackBerry, Smartphones

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

25 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • That Doesn't Make It More Interesting

    Title says it all.
    TheCyberKnight
    Reply Vote

  • That Doesn't Make It More Interesting

    Title says it all.
    TheCyberKnight
    Reply Vote

  • lol

    what will they think of next, if that was true who was the buyer?? when i heard that news i new they buyers name would not be released. this is probably a scam made up at blackberry to try and stimulate there stock sheesh
    Dave Hargraves
    Reply Vote

    • Lol, you hurtin'?

      Unless Thorsten wants to go to the big house, public companies can't just fabricate sales numbers.
      AfterSuperPhone
      Reply 10 Votes

  • oh oh

    buy stating that statement Blackberry without saying who bought, will probably do more damage to your company then good, who in there right mind would buy a million devices in the hopes they will sell? this does not make sense whatsoever. good grief. now i have heard it all.
    Dave Hargraves
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Unless you've seen the contract...

      ...you have no way of knowing the length of the contract or the devices involved. The Z10 and Q10 is/will be in the market. We've also heard the rumors on the R and A-series models that will be coming out in 2013 or 2014. This deal could be over a period of time involving multiple models. Don't jump to conclusion. BTW, turn off your auto-correct...
      AfterSuperPhone
      Reply 4 Votes

    • how?

      No matter how underwhelming the final announcement may be, one this is for sure.
      It can only be good news for BlackBerry and bad news for people like you. I can't wait to see how Business Insider, forbes and others also turn this into negative or matter of fact news.

      By the way I do like to follow Mathew Miller. This is a journalist who reports on all products fairly without too much conjecture. That includes his take on the new HTC as well.
      Vijitc
      Reply 2 Votes

  • It was me

    When I saw Z10 I loved it so much that I ordered 1 million of them.

    I am replacing my windows phone with 1 million blackberies.
    paul2011
    Reply 3 Votes

  • My guess is AT&T or Verizon

    I read an investor site today and a member of the site said they pre-ordered the Z10 on-line on Tuesday....they checked the status of their order today with an on-line AT&T rep. In the chat the rep said the order would be delayed due to they had ALREADY sold out of their pre-ordered stock and had placed a back order to replenish stock.

    Then this news hits this afternoon....I think it is AT&T. It could be Verizon though....they have the exclusive rights to sell the White Z10 and I hear their pre-order demand is high for that phone as well.

    Overall this is excellent news for BB...their release around the world has been very successful with demand higher than supplies and it looks to be the same in the U.S. Their stock rose almost 10% on the news...it is safe to save that it looks like BB is back in the conversation when it comes to the future of mobile computers.
    IsMarkWright
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Most Plausible

      AT&T is definitely the most plausible theory... it would have to be a reseller since there are little or no companies, or governments, that would place such a large gamble on an "untried" infrastructure upgrade.

      Of course, at that volume, I would be curious as to the net profit for BB/RIM... does the sale truly make a difference for them in the long run? For a reseller such as AT&T, even if they let them go dirt cheap, the required service contracts will help them achieve considerable profit if they can actually move the devices.

      On the flip side, I feel bad for whoever bought into BB/RIM based on this news because a 1 million unit bulk sale does not guarantee profit or survivability. And the sale does not even take into account the potential for a product flaw.
      tomxfoolery
      Reply Vote

  • WhatsApp as switch incentive ? Nah...

    Every phone I've had (Symbian, BB, Android) and even an iPod Touch, has had WhatsApp installed. I really don't think it is being added to enable people to switch to BB easier, it just happens to be a fantastically popular way to message friends using ANY smartphone for free !
    SurfLynx
    Reply Vote

  • Maybe it was the US government. These could be

    the next wave of obamaphones.
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply 1 Vote

    • So what was the last wave of obamaphones?

      N/T
      radleym
      Reply 1 Vote

  • clever...

    Produce competitive device 5 years too late, set up shell company to "buy" 1 MILLION DEVICES (pinky on lip), show burgeoning revenues on quarterly report... PROFIT.
    Playdrv4me
    Reply Vote

    • You aren't very good at the prognastication business...

      ...but it looks like my prediction earlier in the day is correct. CNBC Financial Network claims that it is AT&T who purchased the one million BB 10 phones. Not surprising really....almost 50% of the Z10 sales prior to the U.S. launch have been from former iphone and S3 owners....I expect similar numbers in the U.S.
      IsMarkWright
      Reply 1 Vote

  • And In One Fell Swoop They Have Surpassed Windows Phone

    Just one deal sells more units than the entire Windows Phone ecosystem can manage in an entire quarter ... this augurs well for BlackBerry.
    ldo17
    Reply 3 Votes

    • Uh, no.

      All of Finland LOL'd your comment. Nice try.

      I respect BB, but they deserve all the scorn they're getting. Not disclosing is uncool, especially given the timing, so close to their quarterly results announcement. And they had to know how it would look to the public. Some stockholder is going to force them to disclose.
      beau parisi
      Reply Vote

      • Probably, the BUYER asked them not to disclose ...

        and had that requirement written into the Contract. And even if it isn't in the Contract, it was requested. How is "some stockholder going to force them to disclose"?

        Well, that can't happen without creating damages for non-performance of the Contract, or wrecking the relationship with the BIG buyer. "Some Stockholder" would need to take over the Board of Directors, probably pay Civil Suit Damages, and find another buyer for all those phones.
        -----
        The parent post is completely wrong about sales of Windows Phones - it's actually been estimated between 7 and 13 million in 2012-Q4. But you're no correcting his post. Instead, you have posted incompetent SWAG of your own.

        Try again. BB-10 does not appear to be a "Burning Platform".
        Rick S._z
        Reply 2 Votes

        • By Burning...

          He means going down in flames.
          Turismo
          Reply 1 Vote

  • Condolences to the buyer.

    What a sad, sad purchase.
    Turismo
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close