[mpallo]

I know it is early, but does anybody have a concrete answer as to whether Verizon has another exclusive agreement with RIM on this particular handset like they did with S1? It appears no other carrier in the USA is going to have this phone at least through the end of 2009. I know it was rumored that T-Mobile would have a touchscreen variant of the Storm.

Can anyone confirm the exclusivity window on this phone?

[hooch_is_crazy]

From what I've seen in the past, the exclusive rights agreement for the Storm and Verizon expire at the end of the year... I think I remember reading that a little while back.

[Dsmithjr]

I'm not sure if anyone knows the facts about the S2's exclusivity rights and whether or not it will be available on multiple US carriers, but that fact remains that ALL of the information and pre-release stuff we've seen so far has been Verizon only. I think we're going to have to wait until we hear something official from RIM.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mpallo]

I'm not sure if anyone knows the facts about the S2's exclusivity rights and whether or not it will be available on multiple US carriers, but that fact remains that ALL of the information and pre-release stuff we've seen so far has been Verizon only. I think we're going to have to wait until we hear something official from RIM.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Yeah...I know it seemed last year nobody had a definitive answer on the S1...and not sure anybody really knows now. I held out and held out. I remember reading it was forever, up to 1 year and then depending on units sold etc, etc.

Time will tell I guess....

[Dsmithjr]

I will say that none of the materials I've seen on the S2 contain any of VZW's typical "exclusively from" verbiage that was included on every piece of S1 materials I've ever seen. I personally don't think Verizon has an exclusive on the S2, but all of the current information is showing Verizon as the only player in the S2 game.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mpallo]

I will say that none of the materials I've seen on the S2 contain any of VZW's typical "exclusively from" verbiage that was included on every piece of S1 materials I've ever seen. I personally don't think Verizon has an exclusive on the S2, but all of the current information is showing Verizon as the only player in the S2 game.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Interesting...unless they consider the S1/S2 one in the same...just a refreshed model. Hopefully not.

[mpallo]

Found this in another thread...looks like Voda only has it for a few weeks...

BlackBerry cuts short Vodafone's Storm 2 exclusive | Technology | guardian.co.uk

[inomad]

Hopefully Verizon's exclusivity ends quickly. I want the Storm 2 with North American 3G.

[Dsmithjr]

If RIM is cutting down on Voda's exclusivity due to Voda's release of the iPhone, hopefully RIM will also cut down on Verizon's exclusivity due to their release of multiple Android devices. The question still remains, why would Verizon even want the S2 exclusively? The S1 (while being a decent seller) did turn out to be some what of a pain for Verizon which had to handle multiple returns and a large number of customer complaints. And, with Verizon's new Android devices, the company doesn't need S2 exclusivity as a means of stealing new customers from other carriers. My opinion remains that we will see the S2 on multiple US carriers. When and which are still open questions, but I personally think they are questions of when, not if.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Ultrafied]

If RIM is cutting down on Voda's exclusivity due to Voda's release of the iPhone, hopefully RIM will also cut down on Verizon's exclusivity due to their release of multiple Android devices. The question still remains, why would Verizon even want the S2 exclusively? The S1 (while being a decent seller) did turn out to be some what of a pain for Verizon which had to handle multiple returns and a large number of customer complaints. And, with Verizon's new Android devices, the company doesn't need S2 exclusivity as a means of stealing new customers from other carriers. My opinion remains that we will see the S2 on multiple US carriers. When and which are still open questions, but I personally think they are questions of when, not if.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

If you read the article, Orange gave up its exclusive rights to the iPhone, thereby letting Vodafone have it. Rim, with that in mind, made Vodafone give up their exclusive rights to the Storm.
Nothing like that has happened in the States yet (i.e. AT&T giving up its exclusive rights to the iPhone). I wouldn't be expecting the Storm being given up yet.

[pkcable]

I think we will have to wait and see, but based on the successful (sales anyways) release of the Storm 1, one would think the Storm 2 would also be exclusive. But we don't know either way for sure. I will have an unlocked Storm 1 for sale IF anyone is interested in a few weeks. And you can always put a Tmo or ATT SIM in there.

[mpallo]

I think we will have to wait and see, but based on the successful (sales anyways) release of the Storm 1, one would think the Storm 2 would also be exclusive. But we don't know either way for sure. I will have an unlocked Storm 1 for sale IF anyone is interested in a few weeks. And you can always put a Tmo or ATT SIM in there.

I tend to agree that VZW may have this for a while...hope I am wrong.

Hey...I'd have an unlocked Storm 1 a long time ago if it could hold a consistent EDGE signal without messing with hybrid OS's etc.

[crackfinder]

I think you will see the S2 exclusive for a little while due to the exclusivity of the iPhone with AT&T. Also, I also believe that RIM wants the Storm to be on a good solid network so that the end user experience is up to par if not better than the iPhone. It is no secret that although RIM caters to the business market, that their significant demographic now is the average consumer. However, it will be interesting to see what happens in the near future with the FCC and net neutrality. If net neutrality goes through, I am sure that the day of exclusive handsets being dictated by carriers will be a thing of the past.

[mpallo]

Anything new revealed today in regards to the USA exclusivity following the Verizon announcement?

[Dsmithjr]

There was NO mention of Verizon exclusivity in the press release. I think it's safe to say that this is NOT a Verizon exclusive. Does that mean other carriers will offer the phone? I don't know. So far there has been zero evidence pointing to multiple carrier support. But if it was exclusive to Verizon, it would have stated such in the press release. Even the Voda press release mentions exclusivity, and it was quickly reported that it was going to be short-term.

[mpallo]

There was NO mention of Verizon exclusivity in the press release. I think it's safe to say that this is NOT a Verizon exclusive. Does that mean other carriers will offer the phone? I don't know. So far there has been zero evidence pointing to multiple carrier support. But if it was exclusive to Verizon, it would have stated such in the press release. Even the Voda press release mentions exclusivity, and it was quickly reported that it was going to be short-term.

I tend to agree with your analysis....hope it is true.

[smccloud]

I hope it doesn't end up being a Verizon exclusive. For some reason going from my sub $200 5 line family plan w/ 1500 minutes, 3 BBs, unlimited text, PM, navigation, any mobile anytime, etc..... w/ Sprint to something from Verizon w/ everything worse for a phone doesn't sound good. But Sprint's BB selection sucks So much so that I am considering going to the HTC Hero as my next phone just because I want a touchscreen again so badly (would prefer the S2 but I might not get that choice).

[RentzM63B]

From all the ads I've seen online from RIM for the Storm2, they say "available exclusively from Verizon Wireless"

[smccloud]

From all the ads I've seen online from RIM for the Storm2, they say "available exclusively from Verizon Wireless"

Crap, means bye bye BB for me since the Tour doesn't have a touchscreen or WiFi (I could live w/o the touchscreen if it had WiFi).

[Dsmithjr]

At this point, I've only seen one add that stated, "available exclusively from Verizon Wireless" but, that add was from RIM, not Verizon. I have yet to see a Verizon add that stated exclusivity on the S2. Even the new Christmas adds just posted on BGR don't mention exclusivity. More to the point, if this phone were a Verizon exclusive, it would have stated that in the press release. I've been following phone releases for quite some time and every single carrier will state their exclusivity on a device in their press release. I've never seen one that didn't. The original Storm's press release stated Verizon's exclusivity, the Voda S2 press release stated Voda's exclusivity, Sprint's Pixi announcement yesterday stated exclusivity. If Verizon's getting an exclusive, they'll make it known. Wait for a Verizon press release on their new Droid phone, it will state exclusivity.

The bigger question with this phone is why would other carriers pick it up? Despite all the talk on Crackberry, I don't think there's a real big buzz over this device amongst the general public. Verizon's isn't giving the phone any love, and I'm not sure if any other carrier will give it the time of day either. It looks to me as if people are more interested in getting their hands on an Android device. Ever carrier (minus ATT) is talking up their Android devices, noone is giving the BB S2 any love.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mpallo]

I agree that there really isn't a lot of buzz on this phone and outside these forums I am not sure the phone is really in that much demand.

With that said I personally want a touchscreen BB. I have done a lot of travel recently and I would say for every 15 Blackberry devices I see in the airport, maybe 1 or 2 are Storms. Of course the hardcore business users all want the keyboard, but there is a market for touchscreen berries. Exclusivity sucks.

A bit off-topic but does anyone know if the recent official 5.0 OS rollout for the Storm1 fixes the edge/EDGE issue?