Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): BlackBerry Q10 Demand Better Than Z10

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Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s BlackBerry Q10 with the traditional QWERTY keyboard is apparently in more demand than its BlackBerry 10 touchscreen handset, the Z10. That’s according to the latest report from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. He calls demand for the Q10 “robust” and said that there aren’t any cuts being made in the build plan for the device.

Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): BlackBerry Q10 Demand Better Than Z10

BlackBerry Q10 Retail Checks

According to Misek, they did another round of retail checks on Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s BlackBerry Q10 in the U.K. He said they checked more than 50 stores and found broad demand with just a single exception.

According to Misek, most Orange stores, including those that were co-branded Carphone Warehouse locations, had the BlackBerry Q10 in stock, although other brands were either sold out or had limited stock. He said all the stores they checked received around 24 devices, and 75 percent of the stores they contacted were sold out of the Q10, indicating that demand for the device is likely higher than it was for the Z10.

Misek’s team also ran retail checks in Canada and also found strong demand there. In fact, he said it was better than expected. They only checked 10 stores, but he said with that limited sample, they could see that demand for the BlackBerry Q10 is very strong in Canada.

Research In Motion Has Not Cut Its Build Plan

Misek said he also had difficulties seeing where build plan numbers of 12 million per quarter came from. He said his estimates have always been around 6 million a quarter, so Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has not made any significant cuts to its build plans. He also points out that their sell-in estimates of 4 million units are already ahead of the 3 million units that were expected during the current quarter.

Other Details From Research In Motion Checks

In addition, Misek said they were able to uncover additional information about Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s upcoming plans. He said it appears as if BlackBerry 7 builds are decreasing because more buyers are opting for BlackBerry 10 devices instead. This is good news for Research In Motion because gross margins on the BlackBerry 7 devices are very low.

They also found evidence that the BlackBerry R10, or the mid-range version of the Z10, could go into production this summer, giving a boost to the company’s August results.

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