UPDATE: Vodacom has also released information regarding the BlackBerry Z10 handset and it is available now, in one location. Vodacom World in Midrand, Johannesburg has the BlackBerry 10 device available for purchase on contract at the moment, while other Vodacom locations will have the phone available as from 22 February.
Vodacom’s contract will run customers R479 a month and includes 75 voice minutes, 150 SMS and 575MB of data a month over the 24 month period. BBM texting will be unlimited until the end of May 2013, where a new BBM offer will be announced, with pricing to be detailed later. Like MTN’s offer, the BlackBerry Internet Service will remain in place as it is for non-BB10 devices.
ORIGINAL: MTN has revealed that BlackBerry’s Z10 will be available from MTN stores from this Friday, 22 February.
The Z10 touch-screen device, the first of the BlackBerry 10 devices to launch locally, will be available through MTN on a variety of contracts and price points, from MTN’s Anytime 200 off (R399 a month for 24 months) which gives users calls to the value of R200 and 250MB of data per month to their Anytime 1500 package (R1599 a month for 24 months) which gives users calls to the value of R1500 and 300MB of data a month.
As expected, the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) will not be available for BB10 devices but MTN says that they have reduced data prices for the Z10 considerably. MTN’s Product and Solutions General Manager Mike Fairon said in a statement “We have reduced our data prices by as much as 40%. Therefore, our BlackBerry Z10 customers will continue to enjoy BBM, E-mail, Internet browsing, social network and other BlackBerry services at the most affordable Internet rates on a world-class MTN network.”
MTN has pointed out that BIS will not be going away, saying that “existing BlackBerry customers will continue to be able to utilise BlackBerry BIS services”. Only BlackBerry 10 devices will be reverting to service provider determined data packages.