Electronics retailer Best Buy Canada is reporting a “hugely successful” launch of the BlackBerry Z10 in the smartphone’s home-country debut Tuesday.

Best Buy corporate communications director Christopher Bennett said in-store traffic was brisk through the day and preorders for the Z10 “went through the roof.” The company, which operates Best Buy and Future Shop outlets, processed preorders for tens of thousands of the devices through the online process, he said.

BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Ont., is topping up retailer inventory in case of sellouts, said Bennett, adding that some customers may have to wait a few days to get their hands on the 10.6-centimetre (4.2-inch) device. The Best Buy report corroborates evidence from network carriers in Canada including Rogers and Bell Canada, which said early orders have topped any previous BlackBerry model.

Still, the long-awaited release of the BlackBerry Z10 didn’t draw crowds in downtown Toronto, though shares in the company rose 6.3 per cent to close at $15.94.

At The Source in Toronto’s Eaton Centre, manager Mani Chowdhury said he’d opened early — at 8:30 a.m. — and put out popcorn in anticipation of a crowd.

But by 10, the store had only sold two devices.

“I was shocked,” Chowdhury said. “A few people want to upgrade their BlackBerry but it’s not like the iPhone was.”

He said he’s still hopeful that sales will build up.

“A lot of people really love BlackBerry.”

Alyssa Page, 27, stopped by on her way to work to buy the BlackBerry Z10 because her previous model just died, she said.

“It looks great,” said Page, who has always used a BlackBerry.

Akilan Thurairasa said he switched to a BlackBerry rival Samsung Galaxy phone six months but came in Tuesday morning to buy the new BlackBerry.

“I just want to use the (BlackBerry), get back to normal,” Thurairasa said. The 28-year-old added he had heard the hype about the BlackBerry Z10 but was withholding judgment.

The early Canadian results follow some reports from the U.K. last week, where the Z10 made its global debut on Thursday, of lineups of BlackBerry fans at London retailers.

“We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sellouts, while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand,” Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek said in a research note. He cited channel checks showing solid pre-release demand in markets including the United Arab Emirates, where the Z10 will launch within weeks.

“We estimate sell-in to be at least several hundred thousand units,” Misek said.

Still, Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff said his survey of 30 carrier stores in the U.K. showed all but one had Z10 in stock, adding that carrier promotion was limited.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins told BNN the white Z10 had sold out in the U.K.

The BB Z10, the first major refresh of BlackBerry smartphones in more than two years, marks a comeback attempt after the company’s sales fell in western markets on hard charging competition from Apple and Samsung.

In a preliminary research report, IDC said BlackBerry had just 4.5 per cent of the Canadian smartphone market in the final quarter of 2012, versus 47.5 per cent for Apple and Samsung’s 32.7 per cent. It said BlackBerry had 1.4 per cent of the U.S. market in the quarter.

BlackBerry says it’s launching its next generation platform last in the U.S. market, probably in mid-March. The physical keyboard Q10 will not debut anywhere until April and Heins said it will appear in the U.S. in May or June. Last week, Heins set an April time frame, but said talks with carriers about release dates continue.

He said the BlackBerry’s entry into the United States, the company’s biggest customer base by far, is later because of the extensive testing required by the U.S. carriers and the regulatory process.

“I’d love to be earlier. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not happy with it, but at the moment it is what it is,” said Heins, who in a Toronto speech later in the day urged Canada to assume global leadership in mobile computing.

Heins added that he’s encouraged by early sales indications showing people migrating from other platforms back to BlackBerry.

Heins also said the rollout of the new hardware and operating platform in Canada and the U.K. creates anticipation in the U.S. Fans of the phone’s physical keyboard will have to wait a little while longer — the new keypad version of the device won’t launch until sometime in April.

The Z10 is expected to typically sell for $150 on a three-year contract. Koodo is selling it without a contract for $550.

With files from The Canadian Press

Read more about: