According to RIM, strong sales of its flagship device, the Torch, helped drive earnings up. Great news for those of us who have stuck with the Torch through thick and thin.
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According to RIM, strong sales of its flagship device, the Torch, helped drive earnings up. Great news for those of us who have stuck with the Torch through thick and thin.
I think they can be much stronger if they put it on more carries in the US, but it is still good to hear that they still sold well.
Strong sales brought on by massive price drops by retailers that could not move
them at their listed price. Perspective is everything.
If that price had stayed at $199 across the board I highly doubt this would even
be a discussion point. Just saying.
Very true AG. I only bought my white one due to being free at Best Buy. So free a Best Buy and $99 at At&t is getting aggressive to move units and its working.
For sure the new price point was attractive. Keep the Torch at $199 we wouldn't see this thread. Good numbers though Rimm
3rd party retailers always drop the prices to undercut competition though... This is basically business as usual. The only difference is that nobody discusses the other platforms because they don't care to spin it in a negative fashion.
So I guess that you can get the new droid pro for $49.99 is the same case. price drops are what happens this time of the year. If this was the middle of the year i would be on your side AG but it is holiday season and all carries are after the money and to sign up as many people as possible for another contract term.
And speaking of moving them at the $199 price, my store could not keep them at all for that price and the price drop just made it even harder to keep. So I don't see that as being any real difference maker.
$199 is the marketing proven "easy sell" price point.
So regardless of what a lot of people think they still would have sold plenty at $199. Obviously any phone sells more at $0 - $99 versus $199, but it's above $199 that has a harder time selling.
Like I said above, blogs are constantly on the look out for RIM fodder. These same sources claimed the Torch was a failure when a 3rd party manufacturer lowered the on-contract price early on, claiming this was due to a RIM price move out of poor sales. THIS WAS ENTIRELY INCORRECT.
It depends on the store I suppose. I know the store manager very well at the At&t store I go to. I went in on that Saturday(day after release) and asked him honestly how they were doing on sales. He said they sold 1 unit on release day. The Torch is worth $199 but with iPhones and Captivates for the same price, its tough for the Torch to compete at that price point.
while a true point, i know what vodafone UK`s net cost is, and what it sells them at, and lets just say they make a very good sum, so maybe that was carriers being too greedy, or a mix of both your point and mine :D
edit: just to add i imported an at+t torch on launch, after handset cost, shipping and tax, i only paid �30 (apx $50) more than vodafones NET price!!
Guys, I think my point may have been misinterpreted a bit. I personally think the
price drops, for whatever the rationale, was a very good idea. It got the phone at
the correct price point and into more hands.
All I'm saying is I don't think this device would have taken off had that not been done
@Graz True and I do work in one of the Blackberry stores in an airport none the less but I got my first torch at a att retail store on lunch day they had already sold almost their stock of them. Now my store does not stock tons of the torch but in our first month of selling them (both on contract and off) we had sold close to 70 devices. I know that is not a lot to a corp store but for an airport location that is a lot. The price drop was a helping hand for sure.
Great point, AG. Sales are sales. Hopefully, the price points and aggressive marketing will continue a positive trend meaning good things for future RIM touchscreen sliders as well as the Torch. The more exposure the Torch gets, the more owners will come onboard.
One thing to consider as well is that it may not have been RIM that set the Torch up at the same price point as the iPhone or some of the Android phones. AT&T may have done that on their own thinking that the Torch would be able to compete at that price point.
RIM doesn't set the subsidized price points anyways. The carriers or 3rd party retailers do. They are the ones subsidizing the full retail cost.
maybe in the US...
In canada the torch is at 179.99 and rogers raised there price to 229.99
I was stuck on my 8900 Curve / Javelin and added the "Red Torch" from At&t due to the Best Buy promotion. I'm really shocked that I actually like the phone being that I am a non-touch screen fan.
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Strong numbers from a great device, but RIM is losing out with its ATT exclusivity. Could be even better if Sprint and Verizon get a shot.
It's not like those price drops were across the board ... they varied from retailer to retailer and were only for customers signing on for new wireless plans. Existing plan holders, which I believe would be the majority of Torch owners, paid $199. And then there are those who purchased without a contract or before upgrade eligibility for the full $499. Between that and the subsidies paid by AT&T, I'm sure RIM didn't lose any money on any of them while still moving a lot of units. So they adjusted the price a little ... so what.
Apple did the same thing with the iPhone in much more dramatic fashion two months after it was introduced. Aside from a lot of squawking from the early adopters, nobody made a big deal out of it back then.
Instead of looking at phones' prices with plans, why not look at it without plans? 199 or 99 or free, it is all the service provider earning money. They give it to you free, but they are actually earning the cost of the phone back as you pay throughout the contract. Just my 2 cents. :)
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Got my Torch at the $199 price, then they dropped the price to $149. I called ATT and got $50 back because it was within 30 days of my purchase. Then it went to $99 at AT&T stores but free at Best Buy for new and upgrade customers. I don't have anything to complain about since obviously I thought it was worth the original price. And I am glad more people are getting a great phone at a great price (like my daughter who just upgraded for free).