About two weeks ago, RIM unveiled the BlackBerry Torch, a touchscreen smartphone with a slide out keyboard. After the miserable failures that were the Storm 1 and 2, RIM was hoping to position the Torch as a bona fide smartphone capable of competing with the iPhone and a slew of Android devices. Early reviews of the device, however, were anything but glowing, and now it seems even more unlikely that RIM’s lineup of BlackBerry devices, while great for email, will ever be considered desirable for much else.
Initial reviews of the Torch lamented the device’s clunky software, sluggish browser, and a relatively antiquated 480×360 screen. As is becoming more common these days, handset manufacturers seem to be releasing products that would have been competitive 2 years ago instead of “skating to where the puck will be”, so to speak.
And now comes word via Barron’s that slow sales of the device has forced RIM to cut the price of the Torch in half, down to $99, just two weeks after first hitting store shelves.
The price of the Research In Motion BlackBerry Torch has been cut in half – to $99.99 – on Amazon.com and some other sites, less than a week after the new phone went on sale at $199.99. Early reports from the Street suggest sales of the new phone have been tepid at best. The $99.99 price is with a two-year contract with AT&T.
August 17th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Didn’t a similar price change happened to the Palm Pre, which was initially launched with a $99 rebate coupon ?