RIM's lost a lot of favor in the wireless industry over the last few years, and has a sizable hole to dig out of with BlackBerry 10. But it's going to get a chance to do so: Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T all confirmed to Reuters that they will offer BlackBerry 10 devices. From Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam's simple "we'll carry it" to T-Mobile chief John Legere's proclamation that "it's going to be a successful product," each made it clear than BlackBerry 10 will have a place on its shelves. Carriers have proclaimed support for BB10 before, of course, but this is a strong vote of confidence nonetheless.
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all confirm they’ll give BlackBerry 10 devices a chance
is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
It's hard to overstate how important that is to RIM's chances of succeeding with its upcoming operating system. Jon Rubenstein famously blamed Verizon-dictated release cycles for Palm's eventual demise, telling Fortune that "I think we have a better product than Droid," and that if the Pre had come out first it would've been more successful than the ultra-popular Droid lineup. And as we've seen with Vizio's new phones, ZTE's Grand S, and many others here at CES, without carrier backing there's almost no way to succeed. But with carrier support, BlackBerry 10's January 30th launch may land with more than a thud.
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