Rumor: Sprint will get a touchscreen BlackBerry 10 phone, but it won’t be the Z10

By Andy Boxall March 12, 2013

If you were surprised Sprint passed on the BlackBerry Z10 to concentrate on the QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry Q10, then a new report from AllThingsD may clear up the confusion. An anonymous source told the site Sprint has already bagged one of BlackBerry’s next devices, which will boast a full touchscreen, giving the carrier the best of both worlds when it comes to the new OS.

During CES, BlackBerry’s chief marketing officer said the firm had at least six devices in the pipeline for the coming year. Although he didn’t provide any firm details, he did say the complete range would see BlackBerry have phones available at all key price points. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said in an interview recently all the BlackBerry 10 phones released this year would have, “The whole ten yards,” in terms of features, including 4G LTE support.

Despite prior statements regarding price points, he killed any talk of super-cheap hardware headed for emerging markets, saying sub-$100 phones are, “not BlackBerry.” Sprint will be carrying one of these new phones, and despite it being another touchscreen device like the Z10, it will be an entirely new model. The Verge says its sources have confirmed AllThingsD’s report, and refer to the forthcoming touchscreen BlackBerry phone as version 2.0 of the Z10, although there are no rumors regarding the specification.

The news comes soon after AT&T announced the launch date for the BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S., where it has been stuck in carrier testing limbo for sometime. Verizon and T-Mobile will also sell the Z10, but its arrival on both those networks has yet to be announced, however March 27 has been mooted as T-Mobile’s big day. The Z10 is already on sale in 21 countries around the world.

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