I don’t think that I am going out on a limb when I say that there is as much if not more buzz around the BlackBerry Pearl as than any other BlackBerry to date, including the BlackBerry 8700. Therefore, I don’t think that it is too much of a stretch to say that the BlackBerry Pearl will become the best selling BlackBerry yet.
To be totally honest, however, it won’t be the low $199 price or the fact that the Pearl’s target demographic is the biggest to date for RIM alone that will take sales of the first CameraBerry to record highs. RIM has decided to give their next generation devices names and they will be the same regardless of the carrier, unlike there current practice of specific letter designations for certain carriers. Unless the hardware on the BlackBerry Pearl has more bugs than a Treo and the software is less reliable than Windows Mobile, RIM can’t help but make a killing off of this device.
Does anyone care to bet against me?
“Unless the hardware on the BlackBerry Pearl has more bugs than a Treo and the software is less reliable than Windows Mobile, RIM can’t help but make a killing off of this device.”
i would think it’s borderline impossible for the coders to have effed up the pearl so much that it would approach the bugginess of a windows mobile device. that wm treo is crap.
as for making a killing off of it, i agree, but it won’t be from being on tmo at first. i know maybe one person wih a tmo phone – everyone else is vzw or cingular. after briefly looking at the carrier numbers (cing: 50m, vzw: 43m, tmo: 17m), i question whether or not it makes sense to launch it on the guy way back in 3rd place. sure, they’ll get some new subs, but not enough to really make a dent in the rankings. could inventory concerns been part of the reason to go with tmo?
Scott,
My guess is the T-Mobile, like with the Blackberry 7100t, is paying a pretty penny to be first with the Pearl. From what I hear, it will be out on Cingular shortly after T-Mobile, not that 6 months period of exclusivety crap that Cingular had on the 8700c.
It will be a while before it comes out on Verzion but every 7130e user that I have asked said they will get the Pearl as soon as it does.
I will take that bet…
I don’t think that the BlackBerry Pearl will do nearly as well as you think it will for the simple fact the most companies have policied forbidding cameraphones on their premises.
I think some people may be turned off by the long loading time of the device. However, this may be the device that enters into the consumer market. Maybe.
I can see it becoming the most commercially recognised BlackBerry as it’ll attract the mass consumer, but best selling….wait and see.
Amit: as for the camera and corporate security: this phone is aimed at a different market…the general consumer. RIM does not expect this device to be bought up by Fortune 1000 corporations in large units and distributed to their personnel…this is for the guy or girl at the mall or Best Buy who walks in and wants a cool phone…
I agree with Robb…this phone should sell extremely well. It’s a wonderfully designed device.
BBAdmin,
Eventually, all the major carriers will carry the BlackBerry Pearl and the cumulative numbers of it’s sales will add up across all carriers. For this reason alone it should jump to number one.
Amit,
Outside of Public Sector Organizations, I don’t think that absolute zero tolerance for camera phones is as widespread as you think.
There are more camera phones sold today in North America than camerless phones.
This is kind of off topic but you said that the BlackBerry Pearl will cost $199. I am assuming that this is with a contract. How much will it be without a contract?
rich,
the leaked memo only says it will be available for $199
see here: http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/08/09/the-blackberry-pearl-8100-gets-a-name/
is there a date for the pearl to come out with cingular wireless?