RIM and its American carrier partners have announced pricing for the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9900…and it’s ridiculous. On AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, the 9900 will cost $249.99 after a rebate and a two-year contract commitment. On T-Mobile, it will cost $299.99 under the same conditions. That’s frickin’ hilarious!
While the BlackBerry Bold 9900 looks like a nice piece of hardware, its internals are outdated and it runs a pathetically archaic operating system. Tech specs include a single-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, and a 2.8-inch screen (640 x 480). Those specs look like a joke compared to current high-end Android phones, all of which are priced at $199.99 under the same terms. The only exceptions are some of Verizon’s LTE Android phones, which cost $249.99, but those models offer unmatched Internet speeds. The point being that the Bold 9900 is way too expensive for what it offers.
To me, the pricing can only mean one of two things. Perhaps RIM has given up on the consumer market in 2011. Outside of corporate use — specifically BlackBerry Enterprise Server — I can’t see how a sane person would pay a premium price for such a weak (though certainly handsome) phone. Sure, there are some BlackBerry addicts that will snatch up the 9900, but being a BlackBerry addict in 2011 is akin to insisting that Jenna Jameson is still one of the sexiest women in the world.
My initial feeling is that RIM is waiting for its QNX-based version of BlackBerry OS to hit in 2012 before aggressively attacking the consumer market again. My other feeling is that this is just the latest of a series of idiotic decisions made by RIM executives.
What do you think of the BlackBerry Bold’s pricing? What is RIM thinking here? Do any of you still believe that Jenna Jameson is still ultra-hot?!?
[I wanted to post this story yesterday, but my crap web host decided to take the day off. Never use AnHosting.]
1. 8mb internal? Not gb?
2. My company uses iPhone for corporate phones. Been that way since the 3G.
3. That price should be $100
It's GB, thanks for the catch. That mistake has been corrected. Unfortunately for RIM, the mistake of this phone's pricing has not. Ha!
You know, when that Facebook phone came out for AT&T for $49, I was thinking that's what BlackBerries should be priced at too.
I had no problem paying $80 for the blackberry I use right now under the same terms as above, and as much as I love the phone I know it can't be defended in comparison to what most other people want (ie Android or iOS) from a phone, or especially the price!! $250-300 is absolutely insane, I really do think that RIM executives live in their own little bubble world (of course I think the same thing of plenty of other people as well).
Yeah, I think this is mostly dead for general consumers. Businesses users tied to BES will buy, but I can't see many others doing the same at these prices.
While we are on the subject of corporate accounts, what is the purpose of a blackberry corporate data plan? It costs $15 more per month, but I don't know what benefits it offers for that extra money. It seems like pure waste to me right now.
You know, my wife was needing a new phone to replace her old Motorola Razr (Verizon) and I decided to bring her over to our company's Sprint account so I am getting her an Evo 3D. With all the incentives and rebates from our Sprint account, I'm getting a brand new Evo 3D for less than $200. That's crazy.
What's even crazier is that we actually considered getting a Blackberry because that's what she had before and was used to it. Much to my brother-in-law's chagrin, I decided against it. I just hope I made a good decision.
-M
You know, my wife was needing a new phone to replace her old Motorola Razr (Verizon) and I decided to bring her over to our company's Sprint account so I am getting her an Evo 3D. With all the incentives and rebates from our Sprint account, I'm getting a brand new Evo 3D for less than $200. That's crazy.
What's even crazier is that we actually considered getting a Blackberry because that's what she had before and was used to it. Much to my brother-in-law's chagrin, I decided against it. I just hope I made a good decision.
-M
It depends on if your wife makes a lot of calls and how much she cares about battery life. The Evo 3D is surprisingly mediocre as a phone. Battery life could be better too. Right now on Sprint, I'd gp with the Nexus S.
Rats. I guess I should have asked you and Smartguy before I took the plunge. Oh well. It's not like she is going to use the phone to it's fullest extent. She's just one of those people that simply needs a phone to make calls, but she doesn’t like talking on the phone a lot. She occasionally goes online, sends text messages and looks stuff up on Google Maps. She'll probably start using the camera function a bit more often now, though.
In any case, I am thinking that it is a huge step up from her defective RAZR that couldn't hold a charge. I'll let you know what I think about it when I get to use it for a bit.
-M
Corporate accounts use Blackberry Enterprise Server, while consumer accounts use Blackberry Internet Service. Here's an explanation of each:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Enterpris…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Internet_…
So corporate blackberry users get the ability to open business type document extensions? Verizon messed up and charged/gave me the corporate data plan, but I don't want to pay the extra $15/month for data, I wonder if I will lose the ability to use the Gmail app on BB as well. Previously I had no clue what the difference in plans was, but those pages gave a little bit of insight into what is gained with the corporate account (I'll know soon whether it was worth it or not, my guess is no).
If you're not going through an Exchange server then you should just be charged for BIS.
Yes that is what I will be charged for once they finally change it in the system. They messed up when setting the account up and are working on changing that and crediting the account for the difference.