BlackBerry Bold on Hold in the U.K.
Longer Wait Than Expected for RIM Smartphone in U.S.
Oct 10, 2008
It was just a little over a week ago that the co-CEO of Research in Motion Ltd., Mike Lazaridis, explained to the Associated Press the reason for the delay in the U.S. launch of the much anticipated BlackBerry Bold 9000.
"There's great scrutiny, as you might know, on that network and a certain device. So I guess everyone wants to be sure on every last test," Lazaridis told The Associated Press.
Now, there is word that the Bold has been pulled from shelves in the United Kingdom by Orange Telecom due to software issues on the device. Several media outlets are reporting the recall, including InformationWeek and PC Magazine's Gearlog. Reportedly, Research in Motion is working on a solution to the software glitches. On October 10, 2008, Orange Telecom's Web site had the Blackberry Bold listed as "out of stock."
This Leads to an Obvious Question: Blackberry Bold in the US?
Are software issues with the BlackBerry Bold the reason for the delay in the United States?
The first 3G handset in Research in Motion's smartphone lineup was expected to be available to U.S. customers this past summer. Lazaridis, in his statements to The Associated Press implied that the holdup was due to the AT&T certification process. His reference to "a certain device" is widely believed to be to Apple Inc.'s Smartphone, the iPhone 3G, which faced connectivity issues on the AT&T network this past summer.
The issues with the iPhone have since been resolved. But before the iPhone glitches were fixed, there were complaints by some customers of dropped phone calls and issues with accessing data services through the device. Because of AT&T's past issues with a 3G handset, it was reasonable to believe that the the company's certification process for new devices might have since become more stringent. This may still be the case or other unknown factors may be involved when it comes to the delay in the U.S. launch of the Blackberry Bold.
Whatever the reason for the wait, the news of Orange Telecom's decision to temporarily halt sales of the Bold in the U.K., no doubt, doesn't sit well with BlackBerry aficionados who are holding onto their older models, waiting to upgrade to the 3G Bold. To add insult to injury to those loyal to the BlackBerry brand, RIM has announced two new sleek models of BlackBerry smartphones that U.S. users won't be able to get their hands on--at least not right away.
The BlackBerry Pearl 8220 (RIM's first flip phone) and the BlackBerry Storm (RIM's first touch screen phone) have only just recently been added to the BlackBerry Web site. If there is any redeeming factor for those who are waiting to upgrade their smartphone, it is this: their patience may mean that they will have more choices than if they hadn't waited.
