Will Cingular ever launch a BlackBerry without looking like they have never heard the word logistics. The BlackBerry 8800 is coming out this week. Some Cingular stores have it and are selling it. Others have it but are not selling it until the 21st. Most don’t have it and don’t know when they are going to get it, and quite a few don’t have and have never even heard of it. So much for Cingular stores being on the same page.
I’ve written several times about how botched the Cingular BlackBerry Pearl Launch was. Looks like AT&T buying Cingular hasn’t improved things much. From what we’ve heard the BlackBerry 8800 won’t be released until the 21st so out of fairness, will give Cingular until then. I will say however, it isn’t looking good so far.
In all fairness, I do think Cingular is handling this launch better.
Sure, the salespeople are all over the place in what they know and say, but that’s often the reality of retail sales.
What seems to be improved vs the Pearl launch is this: they are going to make their launch date and stores seem to have sufficient inventory. In fact, it’s a breakthrough of sorts that some stores are selling the units early.
With the Pearl, we had the launch date keep being pushed back, and when launch did happen, most stores didn’t have stock. This time it’s much better…still flawed, but nevertheless improved.