8ta unveils Z10 pricing

8ta today unveiled its pricing structure for the new BlackBerry Z10.

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Telkom's mobile arm, 8ta, has officially announced the availability of the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone through its flagship stores, Telkom Direct Stores, Telkom Express, Edcon and Altech Autopage.

The operator is also the last of SA's four to reveal its pricing plans for the new BlackBerry 10 OS device, which does not come with the traditional R59 BlackBerry Internet Services plan. 8ta was the first to confirm the launch date of 1 March, just hours before the new BlackBerry experience was launched globally on 30 January, with the local launch taking place in Sandton, Johannesburg.

8ta says it has constructed a range of data and voice packages to cater for the varied needs of BlackBerry Z10 users. "8ta is uniquely positioned to offer high volume data packages [and] the Z10 will also be available on the unlimited voice package that offers free calls to all South African cellular networks and fixed-line numbers."

Like 8ta's counterpart, Cell C, all 8ta BlackBerry Z10 packages will include unlimited BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). "Unlimited" applies to texting and file sharing (photos, video clips and voice notes), but new BBM features (video calling and screen sharing) are not part of the offer. Voice calling is free over WiFi, but will form part of the data bundle if over the 8ta network.

Vodacom is offering unlimited BBM for three months, after which it will announce a new BBM proposition. "A new BBM value-added service offer will be launched from 1 June, with pricing information available closer to launch."

MTN is the odd one out, not having revealed any plans in terms of offering the instant messaging platform on an unlimited basis - saying only that BlackBerry 10 owners will still be able to enjoy BBM as part of the entire package at "affordable Internet rates".

"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 networking and other BlackBerry services at affordable Internet rates."

Attila Vitai, Telkom's mobile managing director, says he is confident the company's data-hungry smartphone users will enjoy the enhanced experience of the BlackBerry Z10 on 8ta's 3G network.

"People have already started pre-ordering the BlackBerry Z10, so we expect strong demand at our retail stores."

The following are the BlackBerry Z10 deals available on 8ta's network, as of today: