AT&T (NYSE:T): On Tuesday, the company started to take pre-orders for BlackBerry’s (NASDAQ:BBRY) touchscreen-only Z10 smartphone, with a shipping date scheduled for March 22. AT&T is pricing the phone at $199.99 with a two-year agreement. The Z10 is the first smartphone that will launch with BlackBerry’s overhauled operating system, BlackBerry 10. In January, BlackBerry, the company formerly known as Research in Motion, revealed the operating system and two phones, which are the touchscreen-only Z10, and traditional physical keyboard styled model, the Q10.
Sprint (NYSE:S): Sprint does not have plans to offer BlackBerry’s new Z10 touch-screen phone, but it is possible that it will be getting a different touch-based device from the phone maker, claims a new report. AllThingsD reports that a touch-based BlackBerry device will likely debut by mid-2013. Earlier reports claim that Sprint has intentions to begin to only offer the BlackBerry Q10, the version including the full QWERTY keyboard and a smaller touchscreen.
MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS): On Tuesday, the company urged its shareholders to approve its merger with T-Mobile USA, as MetroPCS faces strong opposition from two major hedge funds. In a letter, MetroPCS’s chief executive, Roger D. Linquist, argued that the complex merger, giving existing investors a 26 percent stake in the combined company, was the best option for shareholders. Furthermore, Linquist claimed that the company had considered various alternatives, but it decided that it would best grow by becoming the top low-cost cellphone service company in the country.
Don’t Miss: AT&T Officially Announces These Details About the Z10.