So I went to buy some Bold 9900's......

At the end of day Wednesday, I went to the local Rogers Plus store to see for myself the new 9900, I have a Torch and made up my mind that I was gonna get a Torch2, but before I pulled the trigger I wanted to see the new Bold in my hands just in case.

Much to my surprise, there was no advertising at all, they were all in the box in the back, in fact she had to open the box to show me one cause I was the only person interested. Even the sales staff hadn't pulled one out. :(

So she hands it to me then I fell in love, so I decided screw the Torch the Family is getting Bolds. So I said process the upgrades, and here is the kicker.....

She suggested that I wait because in her opinion, the price was simply outrageous and would come down in very short order. She had stated that the phone was not worth the price currently charged. And my brain took over from my heart and I said "You're right".

So I walked out with zero phones instead of the four I was gonna purchase.

It is a little surprising and disheartening to actually see the reality vs. the spin as seen on CB or other "fan" sites. The fact that on launch day, well into the end of the day, not a single person asked for the phone and the sales person actually recommended not to purchase the phone because it was not worth the money.

This does not bode well, it looks like another failed launch as seen from my perspective in my small corner of the world. Has anyone else had a similar or counter experience?

So, they hid the phones in the back and when a customer requested them and wanted to buy a few...they talked him out of it. Wow with business partners like that....

Rogers Plus store in winnipeg on Goulet had the new torch on display (fake).

I was able to upgrade via my corporate account (took alot of work) but walked out with the 9900 and the 9810. Both for 199$ on a three year renewal.. Which doesn't matter since we are under contract for our corporate pricing and minute polling etc.


I was waiting for the 9860 but i dunno now.. The bold is so awesome i'm not sure anymore.. Just fired up the torch and will see how it goes.

The keyboard and touch screen are way beyond my expectations (came back from iphone 4)..

Stumped.

the rogers store i went too, had two people in front of me buy 9900 and i bought one, as well i heard another two behind me taling about it.
one of the rogers rep came back to the store and asked the other employee if the 9900 is sold out yet and he said we only have a few left

Makes sense. Belus sell the 9900 for $170, Rogers at $250 after a mail in discount.

On Wednesday (Aug 10) I went in to my local Future Shop and asked about the Bold 9900, there was nothing on display and they had exactly 1 Bold 9900 ! I bought it but I was surprised there was no fan fare at all. Makes me wonder what RIM's long range plan is ....

Originally Posted by fabfreddie

At the end of day Wednesday, I went to the local Rogers Plus store to see for myself the new 9900, I have a Torch and made up my mind that I was gonna get a Torch2, but before I pulled the trigger I wanted to see the new Bold in my hands just in case.

Much to my surprise, there was no advertising at all, they were all in the box in the back, in fact she had to open the box to show me one cause I was the only person interested. Even the sales staff hadn't pulled one out. :(

So she hands it to me then I fell in love, so I decided screw the Torch the Family is getting Bolds. So I said process the upgrades, and here is the kicker.....

She suggested that I wait because in her opinion, the price was simply outrageous and would come down in very short order. She had stated that the phone was not worth the price currently charged. And my brain took over from my heart and I said "You're right".

So I walked out with zero phones instead of the four I was gonna purchase.

It is a little surprising and disheartening to actually see the reality vs. the spin as seen on CB or other "fan" sites. The fact that on launch day, well into the end of the day, not a single person asked for the phone and the sales person actually recommended not to purchase the phone because it was not worth the money.

This does not bode well, it looks like another failed launch as seen from my perspective in my small corner of the world. Has anyone else had a similar or counter experience?

In the UK the windows phone 7 launch was the same, no advertiseing etc etc etc. I think it's just a local thing ie predudice :cool:

Originally Posted by grahamf

Makes sense. Belus sell the 9900 for $170, Rogers at $250 after a mail in discount.

rogers sells it for 199 now

We haven't had the OS7 devices launch yet, but this is very eerily similar to what's happening here with the Playbook. No advertising, zero displays, uninterested sales staff and no one buying them.

I think RIM need to take over their own marketing.

Originally Posted by kevinnugent

We haven't had the OS7 devices launch yet, but this is very eerily similar to what's happening here with the Playbook. No advertising, zero displays, uninterested sales staff and no one buying them.

I think RIM need to take over their own marketing.

I bet it will be like the PlayBook. Which makes me sad. They need to advertise the damn devices!! We'll see what happens come sept 1st. It's getting closer : )

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Well... you got to admit $599 for a phone seems a bit whack! You can buy a damn good tablet for that amount!

Looked at one today in the UK.
Vodafone wanted �41/$80 (?) per month for a "free" phone, on a 24 month contract.

Carphonewarehouse wanted �31/$60 for the same thing.

Didn't get one.

Not because of the price, but I want to see what the 9810 is like.... and to be honest, the iphone 4s/5....


But I have to admit that the 9900 looked quite nice - very slim form factor with a good keypad......
And that's coming from an iphone user (of which I can't stand it, hence my defection)......

Then I had a play with a Playbook.... gotta admit, the OS (QNX?) didn't overly set me on fire, but I fully get the "cheap" price. I would probably get one as it doesn't need to be tethered to a phone contract - just WiFi (which I get free access to UK hotspots anyway).....

However, digression - I can see why you didn't go for the 9900, but it does seem that people won't buy one yet, as there's nothing in the range to compare it too.....BUT there are phones in the imminent pipeline. Bad move by RIM imho, as it could affect initial sales whilst consumers wait to try the other models......

DAn

Originally Posted by fabfreddie

... I was the only person interested ...

... She suggested that I wait because in her opinion, the price was simply outrageous and would come down in very short order. She had stated that the phone was not worth the price currently charged. And my brain took over from my heart and I said "You're right" ...

It is a little surprising and disheartening to actually see the reality vs. the spin as seen on CB or other "fan" sites. The fact that on launch day, well into the end of the day, not a single person asked for the phone and the sales person actually recommended not to purchase the phone because it was not worth the money...

None of this means that the salesperson was right. The phone could very well be worth the money. Perhaps many people in this economy just can't afford it.

It also doesn't mean that you're wrong to wait. Why not wait if it's sure to come down in price considerably in a week or two? You'd save quite a bit on your bulk purchase ...

I haven't talked to one salesperson who hasn't asked me why are you looking for a blackberry? The android does so much more.... blah blah blah. My reaction is simple the blackberry is fully customizable and has actual buttons. And it is still a "PHONE". Maybe its because I am using an old samsung transform(my bro in law found at a concert) which I hear was garbage to begin with. There just wasn't any lag with my bb. Sure it took 5 minjtes to power up, but it is a solid cell phone. I hope sprint brings out the new bold by november. If not, I guess I'll be trying the newest android they have. Have been eyeing the motorola photon.

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Okay, I am no longer on the fence and perhaps that girl did me a favour. After reading people's experience with their 9900 camera, I will not be buying them at all.

So I will purchase only 1 Torch 9810 and give mine to the wife and the kids can keep what they have. 3 less units Rim will have from it's "projected sales".

Rim is seriously flawed, to release a phone in 2011 that takes pictures like my 8320 is a testament to the astounding dumbassery that is taking place at Waterloo. I had no idea that auto focus was not in the camera, it is a clear deal breaker IMO and not negotiable.

Fabfreddie, you seem to have done a complete 180. Weren't you the one posting the videos extolling the BlackBerry browser? What gives? Is it this cam issue???

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Originally Posted by daveycrocket

In the UK the windows phone 7 launch was the same, no advertiseing etc etc etc. I think it's just a local thing ie predudice :cool:

Why wp7 didn't have adverrtising is bcos it simply can compete, with ios or the hordes of droids
But with Mango, that would change
Nokia is spending $217 m
Msft has a lot from the $500million for advertising - am sure they diddnt use it

Soo see the money for ad for wp7
Rand what avout RIM ?
Well.....

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Originally Posted by fabfreddie

Okay, I am no longer on the fence and perhaps that girl did me a favour. After reading people's experience with their 9900 camera, I will not be buying them at all.

So I will purchase only 1 Torch 9810 and give mine to the wife and the kids can keep what they have. 3 less units Rim will have from it's "projected sales".

Rim is seriously flawed, to release a phone in 2011 that takes pictures like my 8320 is a testament to the astounding dumbassery that is taking place at Waterloo. I had no idea that auto focus was not in the camera, it is a clear deal breaker IMO and not negotiable.

Wow good thing, thanks for the info, looks like you need a Kodak not a BB, cya.:rolleyes:
I was going to buy ten but now no way!

That's horrible :( these stores are not doing their job and it seems like a domino affect. If I could work at a store I would definitely own in sales its super easy. + I love rim to death and would help the future of these companies as well as longevity goes too.

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I thought it had a 5MP camera?

Oh well - the whole package is still good for me!

Originally Posted by T�nis

Fabfreddie, you seem to have done a complete 180. Weren't you the one posting the videos extolling the BlackBerry browser? What gives? Is it this cam issue???

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Tonis, that is true what you say, because it is a fact. I was extolling the browser because it was factually correct, OS 6.0.0.600 did indeed get us within reasonable performance to Rims competitors. So when people harp on about IOS or Android they are not actually correct anymore. So I highlight that. But for months I was complaining (whining :D) about the fact Rim could not get such a simple common feature to work properly on our phones.

Well the camera is another, I use my Torch for everything, and I do mean everything, and I use the camera several times daily. For Rim to make the scenario that in order to have a very light and thin phone I must give up the very high quality pictures that my Torch takes for the substandard quality of the 9900 photo capability, that is just wrong.

It reminds me of 2008 all over again, I wanted to buy a 9000, but it could not have UMA, which was paramount, so in order to have UMA I had to go for the lesser 8900. That bulls**t continues to this day with the 9900 and the camera.

Not having Autofocus in near 2012 is just a bewildering thought. I am gonna spend $600 for a phone that takes Nintendo DS quality pics? No Thank You.

My 9900 camera works great, takes great pics of my 4 year old son, and amazing videos!

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Originally Posted by fabfreddie

For Rim to make the scenario that in order to have a very light and thin phone I must give up the very high quality pictures that my Torch takes for the substandard quality of the 9900 photo capability, that is just wrong.

Fab, the iPhone4 is thinner and has autofocus camera. I personally don't think RIM left the AF camera out to make it thinner.