[CrackBlack]

It is said that the 9500 (Thunder) will be exclusively Verizon"quota required" and Vodophone. Does this means that the 9000 (Bold) will not be available to Verizon customer?

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[Duvi]

It will after the exclusivity. The only thing is that Verizon needs to meet quotas to steal at&t's shine. If they don't RIM will probably go back to releasing their big products on at&t/gsm first. There is probably a lot of research going into this device if it's going to be CMDA/HSPA and all this goodness. I guess this will be the iPhone killer Verizon has been waiting and wanting so bad.

[supercasper]

As we all seem to be BlackBerry lovers think of it in competitive nature.... What would be the point of an iPhone Killer being on the same network as the iPhone. The iPhone has helped at&t alot in sales, revenue and customer growth. Yeah! at&t would love this, but would Apple?!?! Just remember VZW was offered the iPhone 1st but didn't want to, cuz of Apple's greediness! I believe I read that the Bold will be possibly available for VZW around May 2009.

[xandrex#IM]

If the 9500 is Verizon exclusive (at least for a while), does this mean they're breaking the number scheme where xx30 is the CDMA carriers?

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[IrishJK09]

Not necessarily, because 9500 isn't its firm number; it was also stated that it will more than likely change over time. Also, it was said that it is a LIFETIME exclusive to Verizon/Vodafone as long as they can meet the sales quota, which means no Thunder for At&t, potentially ever (as long as that quota is met). The good news is that At&t is still bound to get the Storm, which is the upcoming touchscreen/keyboard hybrid device, and if you ask me, a touchscreen/keyboard hybrid is far better than a touch only device.

One other thing. Why would RIM care about releasing an iPhone competitor on At&t? RIM has nothing to do with At&t and they probably couldn't care less which carrier is more popular as long as their devices are selling. Whether RIM's iPhone killer is released on At&t, or Verizon, it doesn't matter to them as long as it sells. To be honest, the more carriers they release it to the better. That said, you also have to think about the people that bought into the iPhone craze... Many people switched to At&t just for the iPhone, and now that they are there and have the iPhone, they could possibly be getting tired of it. The problem is, those same people may not be prepared to shell out the ETF to get out of their contract and go back to Verizon for the new BlackBerry; on the flipside however, they may be willing to pay retail on the new BlackBerry, or they could even be lucky enough to talk At&t into an early upgrade discount (I did it once...).

There are many different possibilities on what could happen, but one thing I know for sure, RIM needs to release any and all of its direct iPhone competitors on as many carriers as possible. While the iPhone may never kill RIM's corporate user base, it certainly can, and is, put a hurting on their consumer user base. Most of the people here at CrackBerry are devote fans of BlackBerry, and refuse to acknowledge the iPhone's strengths and the love that is around for it, but ignorance is not always bliss, and I am sure RIM is aware of that.

I am drifting into territories that this topic wasn't even created for, so I will cut it off here... Case in point though, RIM can only benefit from having their consumer targeted devices on as many networks as possible.

[Jarmer]

and if you ask me, a touchscreen/keyboard hybrid is far better than a touch only device.

that's exactly right. Ever since the iPhone came out I've been saying the same thing, I want a BBerry with a physical keyboard and touchscreen, none of that virtual keyboard garbage.

[xandrex#IM]

I'm sure if they release a purely touchscreen device, it'll have an amazing virtual keyboard. RIM will pump out only the best.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[corymcnutt]

It seems as though VERIZON is always the last to get the "latest and greatest" phone from anybody except LG...it's the same with Moto, Apple, and RIM. I have read it is because Verizon puts so many restrictions on their models (no full BT, GPS, etc.) the manufacturers don't get to really showcase their OS; not to mention the rewrites of the OS to incorporate those restrictions. I LOVE Verizon's connectivity, but I hate having to wait for all of the great new phones coming out.

[Hankster]

It seems as though VERIZON is always the last to get the "latest and greatest" phone from anybody except LG...it's the same with Moto, Apple, and RIM. I have read it is because Verizon puts so many restrictions on their models (no full BT, GPS, etc.) the manufacturers don't get to really showcase their OS; not to mention the rewrites of the OS to incorporate those restrictions. I LOVE Verizon's connectivity, but I hate having to wait for all of the great new phones coming out.

The trend seems to be Verizon has the best coverage but ATT has the best phones. The only reason I don't have Verizon is because their phones are crap - just my opinion. ATT's phone selection is so much better and if you're anywhere near a major city the coverage is great with both carriers.