BlackBerry Z10 Release Date: Retailers Slash Prices Ahead of U.S. Launch

Even before its debut in the United States, the BlackBerry Z10 is having its price cut by European retailers in an effort to invigorate what appear to be flagging sales.

"Carphone Warehouse has cut the price of the Z10 on the 3 network to £29 up front on a £29 per month, two-year contract," writes the Telegraph. "Previously the contract cost £36 per month with a free handset, so the total reduction is around £160. Vodafone has meanwhile introduced a web-only deal for the Z10 for £33 per month, an effective £72 cut over the life of the contract."

This is yet another sign that BlackBerry's hopes of breaking back into the mobile phone market with its new line of BlackBerry 10 OS powered phones might not be coming to fruition.

BlackBerry has not released sales figures for the Z10 yet, though its fourth quarter earnings are due out later this month. Some analysts guess sales have been as much as 80 percent lower than anticipated, but some retailers say the Z10 has been sold out.

Still, BlackBerry has released statements saying the Z10 was the most successful launch of any BlackBerry phone is history. But that may not be enough to prevent customers from passing up the Z10 in favor of phones from Apple and Samsung, who dominate the market, or new offerings from HTC or Sony.

Sprint just announced it won't carry the Z10 in the United States, though it will offer the Q10, BlackBerry's QWERTY keyboard enabled phone, due out soon.

But the price drop, while potentially bad for BlackBerry, could be good for U.S. consumers in the short run. As the phone hasn't been released in the U.S. yet, carriers might offer the phone with a lower introductory cost than they would have before the European price cuts.

Of course, it's also possible that a loss of revenue for BlackBerry now will mean the company will have to make up that loss from American sales, so prices could actually go up.

Check back for the latest updates as they become available.