Telstra, Optus to range new BlackBerry Z10

Australian telcos Telstra and Optus have committed to ranging the new BlackBerry Z10 handset, though neither have committed to pricing or a firm release date for the handset.

(Credit: Joseph Hanlon/CNET Australia)

BlackBerry is expecting that the Australian carriers will release the phone in a similar timeframe to that expected in the US, which equates to at least March before the phones are in stores. This would have Aussie BlackBerry fans waiting a month longer than those in the UK and UAE.

Optus and Telstra are two of the 110 carriers around the world expected to be stocking the BlackBerry Z10 over the next few months. The Z10 is the full touchscreen model BlackBerry 10 device, with a 4.2-inch screen, Qualcomm processor and 2GB RAM.

BlackBerry will also launch a handset with a full-QWERTY keyboard, called the Q10. Timing for this handset is still vague, though BlackBerry CEO Thorstein Heins did say that he expected the first Q10s to be available from the end of April this year.

You can read our review of the Z10 here and our preview of the Q10 here.

Joseph Hanlon attended the New York event as a guest of BlackBerry.