BlackBerry ships more older devices than BB10, reneges on PlayBook BB10 promise

There was a lot of depressing news from the BlackBerry Q1 2013 earnings call this morning, including that BlackBerry shipped fewer BB10 devices (2.72 million) than older BB devices (4.08 million). With a previous selling rate lagging shipping totals of about 30 percent, BlackBerry may have actually sold just under 2 million devices.

The BlackBerry Z10 was reported to ship 1 million units in the first three weeks it was available and predictions estimated at least 3 million BB10 devices would ship this quarter, which did not happen.

Related BlackBerry 10 news

• BlackBerry Q1: Recovery, turnaround not going so well
• BlackBerry CEO Heins: Focus on enterprise mobility over device sales
• BlackBerry nixes BlackBerry 10 on future PlayBooks
• BlackBerry Q10: Hardware QWERTY and long battery life have a place in mobile
• BlackBerry, HTC, Nokia: Which will be around at the end of your two-year contract?

The Q10 just started shipping here in the US so its impact on financials here was likely minimal. However, the Q10 has been out for over a month outside the US and has reportedly done pretty well. I do like using the Q10, but I don't see a compelling reason to choose a BB10 device over an iOS or Android device at the moment.

After using the BB Z10 for a couple of months and then hearing the promise at the BB10 launch that BB10 would be coming to the PlayBook, I went out and bought a refurbished one about a month ago to install the update. It turns out that BlackBerry is reneging on that promise and that BlackBerry 10 is NOT coming to the PlayBook after all. I understand the OS on the PlayBook is not that much different than BB10, but they should never have told us it was coming unless they were certain. While I didn't spend a huge amount on the refurb unit, something like $130, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I wrote an article on the underdogs, BlackBerry, HTC, and Nokia, back in April wondering which would be around at the end of a two-year contract. My BlackBerry prediction isn't looking as solid as I thought at the time, HTC made some changes in marketing leadership and the HTC One is the best smartphone I have ever used, and Nokia continues to roll out devices across the pricing spectrum while pushing Microsoft. After just a couple of months, I am inclined to change my viability order to Nokia, HTC, and then BlackBerry.