Optus has launched pre-orders for the upcoming BlackBerry Z10, with plan options for the new phone matching the telco's best sellers, the iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.
This includes a $60 per month plan, with a $6 per month handset repayment fee over 24-months. Customers who pre-order the phone should get it by March 25, according to the Optus website.
The $60 plan sits in the middle of the Optus plan options. Customers can also choose plans as low as $30 per month, but will pay a higher handset repayment fee on these plans. Alternatively, you could choose the Z10 on a $100 per month plan and avoid the repayment fee altogether.
Risky business
Pricing the Z10 at the same price as the Samsung phones and iPhone is a risky strategy as Australians weigh up whether to take a chance on the new BlackBerry 10 platform. Making the phone cheaper might have helped sell Z10s and increase the chance of positive feedback spreading by word of mouth.
On the flipside, price matching does demonstrate that BlackBerry and Optus see the Z10 as a premium-quality competitor for the most popular phones in the country.
BlackBerry launched the Z10 six-weeks ago in New York alongside its new BB10 OS software platform. The phone has already enjoyed some success after launching in the UK and in Canada, though the real battleground for BlackBerry will be in North America, where the company formerly held a powerful position among corporate clients.
In Australia, the Z10 is also expect to launch on Telstra and Vodafone throughout March.
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