Based on our previous post, we know that Cingular has, at least in their business channel, released the BlackBerry Pearl. My question is, “Why Today?”

The Cingular BlackBerry Pearl is already a week late and has missed the biggest selling day of the year. What possibly could Cingular have gained by releasing today other than the belief, in my mind at least, that they are not just sloppy with distribution and generally being on the same page throughout the organization, but truly inept when it comes to product management in the area of release strategy?

It seems to me that Cingular should have waited until December 1st to after missing the November 21st launch that was leaked and Black Friday came and went without most people in the Cingular stores having a clue as to when the device would be available.

Remember that document that said that the BlackBerry Pearl was exclusive on T-Mobile until December 1st. They could have hidden behind that seeing how they truly still haven’t given an official date.

The fact that people are buying the Cingular BlackBerry Pearl today kind of makes a T-Mobile period of exclusivity a mute moot point which tells me that there was no reason for the Pearl not to have been available on the 21st and definitely not by the 24th, less a complete failure in Cingular’s distribution system, product marketing team, or product management team if not a combination of the three.

Saying that Cingular sucks because devices don’t come out when we want them to is one thing. If Cingular truly has the inability to get product out on time because of poor internal processes, which previous history tells us that they have, Cingular sucks has a whole new meaning.

It’s no wonder Verizon is about to over take them as the top dog mobile carrier in the U.S.