BlackBerry Q5 release date and price: who's on board?

The BlackBerry Q5 is here, and about time too as the Canadian firm launches its first "affordable" (the final price remains to be seen) BlackBerry 10 device.

Unveiled at the annual BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando the BlackBerry Q5 was almost completely leaked under the moniker BlackBery R10, so its design and specs come as no surprise.

There's a cheap plastic chassis, QWERTY-keyboard, 3.1-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 2MP front camera and 5MP rear facing snapper.

If those specs have whet your appetite then take a look below, as we've been around the town to find out who will be selling the BlackBerry Q5.

Phones4U

The first UK outfit to confirm it would be ranging the BlackBerry Q5 was Phones4U, storming out the gate a matter of minutes after Thorsten Heins announced the handset on stage in Orlando.

Update: It now has the Q5 up for pre-order with all the major networks apart from O2 featured. Contracts start at £21 per month over two years - and that gets you a free Q5 plus 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data on Vodafone.

The BlackBerry Q5 release date is noted as July 3 on the pre-order page.

Carphone Warehouse

Not wanting to be left behind Britain's other major high-street phone retailer has also confirmed it will stock the BlackBerry Q5, and you can pre-orderon its website with stock expected on July 1.

Update: In terms of contract price things are pretty similar over at Carphone, with the Q5 once again free on contracts starting at £21 per month, although it's also offering it SIM-free at £319.95 - the cheapest we've seen so far.

O2

Bad news for anyone who's on O2, as the bubbly network has confirmed to TechRadar that it won't be stocking the BlackBerry Q5.

EE, Three and Vodafone

The other UK carriers are all staying quiet on the BlackBerry Q5 for now, telling TechRadar they were unable to comment on the handset at this time.

Rest assured we're chasing them all, along with the likes of Tesco Mobile and TalkTalk, to bring you all the deals and availability.

Online retailers

Update: Thanks to the folks over at Unlocked-Mobiles now have the black SIM-free BlackBerry Q5 in stock and ready to ship - the white version is expect on July 1.

If you fancy getting your mitts on the handset it will set you back £334.98 (£15 cheaper than the pre-order price) - which really pushes the "affordable" tag the Canadian firm has slapped on the smartphone.

Update: Clove has the BlackBerry Q5 listed for pre-order at £330, with the black version due to arrive in on July 1, while over on Expansys there's no word on release date or price.