Solavei becomes first to offer BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S. - for a hefty price

The BlackBerry Z10 may debut in March, if we're lucky, but none of the major U.S. carriers set to offer the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone have confirmed a release schedule for the device. No-contract carrier Solavei has jumped ahead of the big boys and announced that it is now offering the BlackBerry Z10 for use in the U.S.

Solavei is a little known but established MVNO that offers unlimited voice, text, and data for $49 per month. The service piggybacks on the T-Mobile network and doesn't have any contracts. Solavei will beat the major smartphone retailers and begin offering users a chance to gain early access to the BlackBerry Z10, but access won't come cheap. The Z10 is sold through retail partner GSM Nation, which sells the phone for $999. That's an expensive proposition for a phone, especially when one considers that the BlackBerry Z10 will not cost that much when purchased from other U.S. carriers - even without a device subsidy.

The advantage of purchasing a BlackBerry Z10 now, according to Solavei, is that customers get unlimited service by paying considerably less than what the major carriers charge. If you're anxious to get a BlackBerry Z10 and willing to pay the higher up-front costs to save money on a monthly bill, Solavei and GSMNation have the BlackBerry Z10 available now.