Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry 7 smartphones are seeing strong initial sales among businesses looking to upgrade from older BlackBerry smartphones, however consumer sales have been weak according to Canaccord Genuity. In a research note, Canaccord analysts Mike Walkley and Matt Ramsay found during channel checks that upgrade sales of BlackBerry 7 devices in North America were quite strong with enterprise customers in August. Specifically, Verizon Wireless saw strong Bold 9930 upgrade sales among its substantial enterprise customer base, while AT&T and Sprint saw mixed sales. T-Mobile’s $300 Bold 9900 has not been selling well according to Canaccord’s checks. Read on for more.
As announced just a few days ago, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 is now available for purchase online from Verizon. You can grab it for $199 with a 2-year contract or for $499 sans-contract. The Torch 9850 features a 1.2GHz processor, full touchscreen, 5MP, HD video recording and more. Those of you wanting to grab one in stores will have to wait a few more days. Hit the link below for more.
Today, Verizon officially announced their pricing, and launch date for the Torch 9850. We know many people have been patiently waiting for this one. So here is the scoop.
will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Sept. 15
Price is $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data
comes with free 16 GB micro card
Key Features Of The 9850
3G coverage
3.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen display (800 x 480) with trackpad navigation
1.2 GHz processor
Global Ready™ – Quad band with support for UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, including more than 95 with 3G speeds
5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD recording capabilities
Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth® 2.1
16 GB microSD™ card pre-installed, with support for up to 32 GB microSD card
We heard rumors that it was coming but now it is official. Verizon has announced the pricing and launch dates for the all touch BlackBerry Torch 9850. The Torch 9850 will be available on Verizon’s website on Sept. 8th and will be in stores on Sept. 15th. Yes you read that right it launches in less than 2 days. Nothing else is really new other than it coming with a free 16GB MicroSDHC card.
The BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be selling on Verizon for $199.99 with a new two-year contract and will require a Nationwide Talk plan of $39.99+ and a data plan of $30+. Check out the details from the press release below!
Early rummors hinted at T-Mobile and Verizon also releasing the BlackBerry Torch. A new leaked image shows the 9850 landing on Verizon for direct fulfillment on September 8th and in stores on the 15th.
RIM will finally launch the same devices across several U.S carriers unlike the past were only one or two carriers had exclusive to the devices.
Which device are you holding out for if you haven’t bought the 9930 yet?
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011:
Phone Releases
Fido launched the Samsung Galaxy Q, also known as the Gravity Smart in the US, on Thursday. [via MobileSyrup]
The BlackBerry Curve 9360 can already be purchased on Telus for $50 with a three-year contract, and the Torch 9860 will be available on August 30th.
SouthernLINC Wireless announced the immediate availability of the Motorola Titanium, offered for $150 with a two-year commitment.
T-Mobile released the Samsung Gravity TXT, a basic messaging phone that’s on sale for $10. [via UnwiredView]
Cricket has begun offering a new messaging phone called the Samsung Comment, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo bluetooth, a microSD slot and 1.3MP camera. It can be had for $90 with no commitment required. [via PhoneScoop]
Other news
The government of South Korea, in reaction to Google’s planned acquisition of Motorola, now intends to form a consortium of local companies that will work together in building a brand new mobile operating system. [via IntoMobile]
Randall Milch, Chief Counsel for Verizon, is so frustrated with the patent wars going on that this week he filed an appeal to President Obama, asking for him to provide assistance in the matter. [via PhoneScoop]
The Motorola PRO is expected to debut in the UK in mid-September, though pre-orders are already taking place at select authorized resellers. [via UnwiredView]
Leaked posters indicate the BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be offered by Verizon and screenshots show the same phone going to US Cellular, though we’re still unsure of the release date or pricing. [via CrackBerry(1) and (2)]
Last week we reported on the rumored Sony Ericsson Nozumi, a smartphone that will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. At the time, it was assumed to be only selling in Japan; however, there’s a good possibility the Nozumi will end up available globally instead. [via XperiaBlog]
Pantech’s LTE phone on Verizon may actually end up being called the Breakout (rather than the “Apache”), according to a leaked screenshot. When released, it’ll feature a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM, dual cameras, and will be preloaded with Gingerbread. Not much to write home about at this stage in the game, considering these are incredibly similar to the specs of the LG Revolution. However, it would be the first 4G phone on Big Red that has a 4-inch display. [via AndroidCentral]
T-Mobile may be planning to throw a data pay-per-use feature onto any smartphone that currently has its internet access blocked. If this happens, it will affect current customers as well as new ones. [via TmoNews]
Dish has petitioned the FCC for permission to use 40MHz of allocated spectrum to begin building out an LTE-Advanced network. [via PhoneScoop]
Verizon will carry RIM’s new BlackBerry Torch 9850, according to a picture of a leaked advertisement obtained by CrackBerry. It is still unclear when the phone will launch, but given that it is pictured next to the aging Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play, we suspect Verizon could make the announcement in the near future. RIM revealed the Torch 9850 in early August and we had a chance to check it out first-hand during an event in Toronto. The web browser is much improved, we appreciated the thin form factor and the phone’s 1.2GHz processor zipped around BlackBerry OS 7. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 is equipped with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, 8GB of storage and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video.
Verizon’s latest LTE network expansion may be a tad small compared to some previous ones — encompassing 15 new markets, plus some additional coverage in ten existing ones — but it was enough to push the carrier over one significant milestone. It now says that the network encompasses some 160 million Americans, or more than half the US population. As Verizon is quick to point out, that’s a feat it managed to accomplish in just eight months.
Head on past the break for the press release with the complete list of markets covered.
Verizon Wireless has just released a list of more cities and areas that are now covered under their 4G LTE service. It’s nice to see that some of these areas being covered now are mid sized towns. This is a great sign that 4G is not too far off from reaching rural communities and small towns. Keep in mind that some of the cities listed below already had 4G but have been expanded even more.
For those of you living close to our nation’s circle of political puissance, Verizon’s got a promotional offer that’ll help you feel like one of the data-dependent elite. Available starting today and running through September 30th, existing voice subscribers in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia can begin their trek towards an always-connected lifestyle by tacking on 300MB of data for $20 per month. The deal’s intended for cost-conscious customers who haven’t yet learned “the many benefits of… a smartphone,” and is open to any of the operator’s 3G or 4G LTE handsets. Be sure to hit the break to find out more in the presser below, but we warn you — internet addiction is a slippery, costly slope.
Night Hawk Computers Blackberry Alliance 