BlackBerry has slashed the price of its flagship smartphone, the Z10, in the US after disappointing sales.
Consumers can sign up to a two-year contract with either AT&T or Verizon and get the Z10 for $99, or only $49 on Amazon or Best Buy - nearly a quarter of the price four months ago.
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Sales of the full touch screen BlackBerry Z10 device, along with the BlackBerry-style QWERTY keyboard-bearing Q10 have been disappointing, weighing in at just 2.7 million in the last quarter.
The BlackBerry 10-series devices, featuring the new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) operating system with full support for touch screen input, were launched earlier this year in the UK. But the Canadian phone manufacturer has been criticised for pricing its new products too high - the Z10 was initially priced at around £550 and the Q10 £100 more.
The price of the Z10 has since been cut in the UK, but it is unknown whether there will be a further reduction in the price of BlackBerry's Z10 in Britain as a result of the cuts in the US.
BlackBerry booked a loss of $84m in its last quarter, down from a loss of $510m in the quarter to the end of March 2013.
In the past week, it has been reported that five senior staff are set to leave the ailing phone maker, further hampering its chances of closing the gap on smartphone operating system rivals Apple and Google Android.
However, the firm claims to be making ground among top US businesses, stating that 60 per cent of top American firms are currently trialling or using BB10 devices.
