Last minute BlackBerry 10 rumors hint at more reasonable price and early release date

A new price leak for Research in Motion’s forthcoming BlackBerry Z10 suggests it won’t cost as much as once feared, while another rumor gives the phone a very early release date.

There are just two days to go until BlackBerry 10 is finally announced, but that doesn’t mean the last minute leaks have dried up, as two more turned up over the weekend. Research in Motion itself has been instrumental in pushing out information on its new operating system, but these are of a far more unofficial nature.

The first concerns how much we’re going to have to pay for the pleasure of owning a new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. A short while ago, a screenshot supposedly taken from a Best Buy Canada computer system suggested the Z10 would cost $799 SIM-free. This sounded high, but not beyond the realms of possibility. Now, a second screenshot, this time from UK retailer Carphone Warehouse, has turned up.

It prices a white version of the BlackBerry Z10 at £479.95, which equates to $755. Carphone Warehouse charges £509 for a 16GB iPhone 5, and £499 for a Samsung Galaxy S3. This makes more sense than pricing it at the same level as the iPhone 5, which is what converting over the Best Buy price gives us, and as always the phone will cost less in the U.S. than in the UK. An insider recently claimed a U.S. Z10 would cost less than $200 when purchased with a two-year contract.

There has been just as much speculation regarding the release date of BlackBerry 10 recently too, with February 28 and March 27 both being suggested so far. Now, a third possible date can be added to the list – February 5. Yes, according to BlackBerry fansite CrackBerry, the Telus and Bell networks in Canada will put the BlackBerry Z10 on sale just a few days after the January launch event. Sounds extremely unlikely to us, but you never know.

Research in Motion will be holding a global launch event for BlackBerry 10 this Wednesday, January 30, when we should get a firm answer to the questions of when it’ll be released, and how much it’ll cost.