[leftypepper716]

Rumored article on bgr.com suggest that the upcoming iphone 4S may become avaiable to both Sprint and T-Mobile in September, making the iphone avaiable on ALL big 4. If the also rumored Bold 9900/9930 is delayed until mid-August, does this hurt RIM in a major way? IMO it would cripple any chance for BlackBerry to gain ground. The Bold 9900/9930 NEEDS released asap!

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[howarmat]

2 different markets IMO. Yes you will lose some people but you have the touch vs keyboard debate which means some people will not even think about the iphone because they have to have a keyboard

[leftypepper716]

True, but if you were on the fence between a BlackBerry or iphone, and able to get an iphone on every major US carrier and BlackBerry drags their heels on the Bold 9900/9930 release...RIM will lose some major newbies they need to gain ground.

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[papped]

I doubt there are a "huge" market of people on the fence between the iphone and BB in the first place...

They are distinctly different.

[Snipperdo17]

2 different markets IMO. Yes you will lose some people but you have the touch vs keyboard debate which means some people will not even think about the iphone because they have to have a keyboard

There are also a lot of people that will get the iPhone instead just because all of the hype behind it. I know several people that had BlackBerrys and they all said they absolutely hate touch screen, yet their next phone was an iPhone because of the marketing and seemingly everyone praising it on the streets. There are definitely people that will still get the Bold but yes I think it will absolutely hurt Bold sales.

I doubt there are a "huge" market of people on the fence between the iphone and BB in the first place...
They are distinctly different.

To an average consumer, they are picking between BlackBerry and iPhone. They are both smartphones with apps.

[papped]

To an average consumer, they are picking between BlackBerry and iPhone. They are both smartphones with apps.

Yes and a kyocera echo is a smartphone with apps...
And there are a bunch of feature phones with apps...

That doesn't really mean there are a ton of people on the fence between the Kyocera and an iphone just because they both are smartphones that have apps...

[_StephenBB81]

To an average consumer, they are picking between BlackBerry and iPhone. They are both smartphones with apps.

to the Average consumer they are looking at what their friends have, or at what they want their friends to have, if more friends have BB's the BB will win, if more have iphones, the ipHone will win

[leftypepper716]

to the Average consumer they are looking at what their friends have, or at what they want their friends to have, if more friends have BB's the BB will win, if more have iphones, the ipHone will win

Exactly! If RIM can get the Bold 9900/9930 out and into carriers asap, the avg. Consumer sees Bold on all 4 major carriers and hopefully spotlighted as the BB flagship. Were as iphone4 is just shown at two carriers, by seer avaiabilty the Bold becomes at least seen more, and hopefully purchased, if it's rleased past August and both Sprint & T-Mobile majorly push the upgraded iphone 4S and then avaiable every major carrier, friends, family word of mouth and just fantastic marketing of Apple will take significant sales AWAY from BlackBerry. Marketing wise NOW is the time to get the Bold out few months before the iphone, HTC, Samsung jauggernuats roll RIM down.

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[lnichols]

I think a lot of people would burn available upgrades to give the iphone a shot. RIM's delays vs. any product are not helping them at all!

[Deathcommand]

Mostly Yes.

But I want the 9930 so 9930 for me.

[Rootbrian]

Eh, as long as BIS works and BIS isn't discontinued, i'll keep my blackberry. touch screens aren't one of my favorites, I prefer a keyboard. iDevices and non-apple touch screens, give me a stylus.

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[mssca]

2 different markets IMO. Yes you will lose some people but you have the touch vs keyboard debate which means some people will not even think about the iphone because they have to have a keyboard

Yep, I would not for any phone that doesn't have a solid physical keyboard. BBs have the best keyboards for sure.

[Pithex]

I think a lot of people would burn available upgrades to give the iphone a shot. RIM's delays vs. any product are not helping them at all!

+1 This is exactly my situation. I loved my iphone until it got bricked. After that I got rid of it and said I'd never buy another... I might be changing my mind.

[Rootbrian]

+1 This is exactly my situation. I loved my iphone until it got bricked. After that I got rid of it and said I'd never buy another... I might be changing my mind.

Apple can brick any iDevice they want at any time without any notice whatsoever. It happened to my brother's 6 times in a row. He has a nokia E72 as a backup to replace the iphone 4 in the case apple bricks it again.

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[tumer]

It will really be interesting to see what happens next year when the QNX phones come out I think the wiLl be the real challenge .

[BlackStormRising]

IMO the new Bold is the perfect companion to pair with a Playbook. I can't believe it will put a dent in android or iphone sales though. But I'll give it a look for sure. I'll probably pawn my 9700 and keep my Torch on hand for awhile longer. I suspect the 9700 devotees represent the sweet spot of the market for the new Bold - unless your BBM contact list is dwindled down to nothing.

[leftypepper716]

I have had my Curve 8330 and will of course have a HUGE upgrade in the Bold 9930, my fiance has the Style 9670, and even next to that the Bold 9930 will be a huge upgrade..like you a qwerty keyboard guy. There is a huge number of BB people who want the Touch when it's released, NOW if that's pushed way back until November-December...you really think those people will wait and not jump on an iphone if its available in September for all four carriers? Get the Bold 9900/9930 out asap to at least lead in to the Touch...if not, why the heck even release it AFTER iphone 4S, just wait until you have a 4G QNX Touch avaiable in 2012.

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[greggebhardt]

RIM has more to worry about than just the Apple 4S!

Android is eating away at both companies.

[big_time2]

RIM knows all of this, but I think their new phones are not ready yet. They're not holding them until September or later because they don't want to make any sales, but because something is clearly on on track.

I will be getting a new blackberry this year, may not be the bold but it will be a new blackberry, but a ton of other people are not, they will be getting iphones.

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[gravymonster]

to the Average consumer they are looking at what their friends have, or at what they want their friends to have, if more friends have BB's the BB will win, if more have iphones, the ipHone will win

Very true. Most of my friends have Blackberrys, and it very much ended up that way out of that just becoming the accepted norm for us. But im probably the only one that has a super strong opinion... if i loved iphones i bet we'd all have those. And lol im notnpainting my friends as sheep, i think by and large they dont care mostly so theyre more willing to listen to my "fanboy" rants.

[iN8ter]

Exactly! If RIM can get the Bold 9900/9930 out and into carriers asap, the avg. Consumer sees Bold on all 4 major carriers and hopefully spotlighted as the BB flagship. Were as iphone4 is just shown at two carriers, by seer avaiabilty the Bold becomes at least seen more, and hopefully purchased, if it's rleased past August and both Sprint & T-Mobile majorly push the upgraded iphone 4S and then avaiable every major carrier, friends, family word of mouth and just fantastic marketing of Apple will take significant sales AWAY from BlackBerry. Marketing wise NOW is the time to get the Bold out few months before the iphone, HTC, Samsung jauggernuats roll RIM down.

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The Average Customer is already dumping BB for Android and iOS. What makes you think putting more blackberries out there will change anything.

At this point I really think the hardware doesn't matter. I mean, Blackberries run fine on current hardware and of course capabilities will increase with better hardware. But I think the urge to migrate to other platforms has more to do with apps, ecosystem, and integration with third-party services...

The hardware in the next BBs are better but they're basically running OS 6.1 with no chance to upgrade to QNX. They will not run Android Apps, and App World is still inferior to every major smartphone app store except maybe WebOS? It will still be missing basic features like ActiveSync support to get better connectivity with 3rd party services, and Blackberry apps in many cases are more expensive than iOS/Android Apps...

BB lacks in all those things. I think that is why people are switching platforms.

I don't think putting out more phones will change it because now that people have gotten wind [of hte rumor] that the next iPhonei s coming to Sprint, those who want it will likely wait until it comes out and get it the same way they did for Verizon or with the refreshes on AT&T.

And then with the WP7 Mango Update RIM will have even more fierce competition in the consumer space.

They will remain strong in the corporate market, though... But I seen a Documentary on television about the Military using Android and iOS devices in the field for on-the-fly face recognition etc. so I expect those platforms to start adding more security features etc. and pressuring in the corporate/government markets.

[anon(3975386)]

Absolutely. I have two good friends who were fierce Blackberry diehards for YEARS, and for all the excellent reasons that people love Blackberry: reliability, business compatibility, exceptional battery life, best physical keyboard, etc. They are now both iPhone users and have been chipping away at my resistance to getting one myself.

If the Sprint 9930 or the announcement of it is delayed until August, and it appears that the iPhone will be coming to Sprint, it will definitely be challenging for me to decide which one to go for.

And yes, I have always required a good physical keyboard in my phones, my smartphone is my business phone, and I'm not really an app person. Tactilely, the Curve 8310 was probably the most perfect phone I've ever had the pleasure to use.

[leftypepper716]

I just feel that RIM IS a year behind, and if they had better forthought & vison, they'd have announced a firm release date, like June 16th at the BBW for the Bold 9900/9930, the other devices could be held off, if, at least RIM could have proof of thier desire to go forward and we'd be content and applaude them job well done...then get the other devices to market, but you need your flagship device out there...a NFL championship team is totally rudderless without the starting QB to get them down field.

[lax42]

if sprint gets the iphone at the same time or a couple weeks after the 9930, I'm going to upgrade to the iphone. If I don't like it I can always sell it and get the 9930 because I know the iphone will have a high resale value. RIM needs to drop this bold asap

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[leftypepper716]

if sprint gets the iphone at the same time or a couple weeks after the 9930, I'm going to upgrade to the iphone. If I don't like it I can always sell it and get the 9930 because I know the iphone will have a high resale value. RIM needs to drop this bold asap

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No need for that. If you're on Sprint, and upgrading like I will be, you have a 30 day trial period to test drive the iphone 4S. If by then you're not satisfied with the iphone, or you decide to get the Bold 9930 (IF? it's even avaiable by then lol) You can return it back to Sprint no questions asked (of course the device will have to be in good working condition). There will be a restocking fee of $35.00 and less/credit for another device. Of course if BOTH the iphone 4S & Bold 9930 sell for $199.99 at the time, then it's a push and you just pay for the $35.00 restocking fee. Pretty sure they waive the re-activation fee. But call Sprint and find out for sure.