Summary: T-Mobile flyers reveal the new BB Bold may be priced at a whopping $349.99 before a $50 mail-in rebate and that is with a 2-year contract.
We have been waiting to see RIM release the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and I was seriously considering the device to go along with my PlayBook, but if the pricing shown in this leaked T-Mobile document is true then it looks like I am not going to be joining the BlackBerry community anytime soon. $349.99 before the $50 mail-in rebate (can’t these things just die?) with a 2-year contract is crazy pricing on a phone that runs a slightly modified version of an old OS and IMHO cannot compete with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.
When a consumer can pick up the latest and greatest smartphones at their carrier store for $199 I don’t know why they would even consider the Bold 9900 at $100 more. I wonder if RIM is giving up on consumer market with the Bold 9900 so they can price some of their other upcoming BB OS 7 devices down in the $199 or less range. I know the initial cost of a smartphone is not the defining cost and has little effect on the contract cost that we pay here in the US, but it is a mental thing and does offer a comparison point with other smartphones. If it does launch at $199 with a contract and in the $400 off contract price, then I still may consider one.
I have used BlackBerry devices on and off over the years and do appreciate the long battery life and good hardware quality, but I am an Exchange and Gmail user and BlackBerry does neither of these very well unless you have a BES. Small companies where people bring iPhones and Android devices, like the one I work at, do not support a BES since there are not enough users and I’ll be sticking with these other platforms for now.
If this price is real, does it change your BlackBerry Bold 9900 purchase decision?
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