AT&T Preps U.S. Launch For BlackBerry Z10

AT&T started accepting preorders for the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone on March 12. The device will hit AT&T's retail stores, website, and enterprise sales channels on March 22, making AT&T the first to officially launch the comeback smartphone from BlackBerry in the U.S.

AT&T is selling the Z10 for $199.99 with a new contract. The no-commitment price for the Z10 is $549.99. About the only feature that differentiates AT&T's Z10 from those offered by T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless is support for its LTE 4G network. Otherwise, the AT&T Z10 offers all the same specs and services found on other variants.

Verizon Wireless announced in January that it would sell the Z10 for $199.99 too, but it has yet to announce availability. T-Mobile USA has announced neither pricing nor availability of its Z10. Sprint, meanwhile, is skipping the Z10 and will offer only the QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry Q10 later this year. Sprint has offered no specific details regarding the Q10's launch. (If you're impatient and slightly nuts, you can buy the Z10 today from MVNO Solavei, which recently dropped the price of the Z10 from $999 to $649. Solavei offers no-contract service using T-Mobile USA's network.)