[donnation]

Seems like this post is about to die out.
May I conclude that the Bold 90xx series is still a great line and that it is still able to get the job done?
Even without the latest hardware inside.
May I also conclude that the extra production run is basically done on demand of the enterprises that are still working with them and might be waiting for the classic, but in the mean time need to have some spare Bold 90xx to replace broken phones now?
And concerning the pricing: it is that high because it is actually not really meant for the consumer market and the pricing is that high because they are trying to push the consumer market to BB10?
So actually, to get to the bottom line: the strategy of BB is not that bad at all.

But that strategy makes no sense. If someone doesn't have an interest BB10 and wants a Bold 9900 why on earth would they pay $400 for it from shopblackberry? To me it makes RIM look incredibly stupid and totally out of touch. There are so many other places to buy new 9900's from for half the price that it looks like a complete gouging by Blackberry to the customer if he/she wants to buy that phone.

And I still don't see what his has to do with the enterprise market. Enterprise customers aren't going to shopblackberry and purchasing this phone for $400. Shopblackberry is for the consumer, not for companies to purchase the phone from. I fail to see any other way of looking at this except BB thinking that:

A. That phone is actually worth that much (which it isn't and it makes them look ridiculous charging that much)

B. They are too stupid to realize that you can buy this phone new for half the price at other places and think that that device is in such high demand that people will be willing to pay that much for it just because it's coming directly from Blackberry.

C. It will push people to use BB10. That makes no sense. If someone is dead set on using a legacy device they'd be insane to pay that much for a phone that was dated when it launched 3 years ago when there are many other places to buy the phone for much less.

[SunshineStateFlyer]

As it has already been said several times, this might be interesting for corporations ordering multiple devices at once but definitely not for the consumer market.

If someone is willing to buy a 3 year old device he is never going to pay 400$ for it. You can get the 9900 for way less off ebay in new condition, boxed and unopened.

[KR2013]

Bold 9900 for contacts, emailing, phone calling still beats anything out there....

I would just carry another phone (iPhone 5) for photos, browsing, etc.

As i do now with z30 and Iphone...


Posted via CB10

I wish for the day when we can carry only one phone (BB) that could do all those things well!!!!!

Posted via Z10

[MarsupilamiX]

Unless they are brand new to IT I'm sure they are aware of the 9900. And I'd fire the first IT guy that purchased this phone for $400.

That made me laugh in real life.
Quite an accomplishment

Just because this run is aimed at enterprise, doesn't mean they won't happily sell to Joe Consumer. They have them, they may as well sell them, especially if they can sell them at this price. This is a picture of what the future looks like for BlackBerry if they can't get consumers to adopt BB10. They'll make handsets for enterprise as an end to end solution for security with BES, and Joe Consumer will be able to have one at a premium price, likely with a very limited app catalogue. As witnessed by the response on here, that won't go over well and most of the 'fan boys' commenting on here will move to a different platform because 'I want this device, but $400 is way too much.'
The problem I have with this is not the pricing. They need to find ways of getting BBOS users to BB10. For BB10 to survive, it needs mass adoption, either from BBOS users or users from other platforms. Other platform users are not going to come because 'there are no apps' and there aren't going to be apps unless the market share goes up. That leaves BBOS, and making another production run for them is not helping. So IMO, $400 isn't too much for this phone, $500 isn't too much. They want it, they should have to pay for it.

I have an amusing thought for you:
Why should enterprise customers buy the 9900 if a Curve is some 50% cheaper?
If IT buys a phone for the basic messaging and PIM needs, I see no reason to pay the double of a Curve, to get the 9900.
Do you see one? The 9900 being a better device than a Curve IS NOT a compelling reason when I am ordering 1000 phones and could just pay half the price.

Another thing to consider:
You really think that what is left of BlackBerry's enterprise customers is enough to sustain the handset division?

Not to forget:
BBOS customers as a whole, are either in emerging markets or enterprise customers. Going by where more than half of the sales are going.
In developed markets, outside of the enterprise sector, BBOS doesn't fulfil the needs most smartphone customers have.
BBOS is an anachronism in today's smartphone market. An OS which answers questions, nobody (99%) asks anymore.
This is also why BlackBerry's marketshare has been tanking since before the 9900 was initially introduced. Customers have evolved, their needs have evolved, BBOS hasn't.

So retaining a bunch of customers who refuse to go with the times is more or less useless, as the number of users really being that unwilling to adopt a new OS, is too small to sustain BlackBerry.

They need mass adoption in the consumer market to be able to sustain themselves and BBOS definitely is not an answer for that. Another production run for a 9900 which costs 400$ is just ridiculous.

So yeah, letting customers pay a premium for a device that is already such an incredibly tough sell in today's market, is so damn gutsy, that I might as well admire it.

Posted via CB10

[MarsupilamiX]

Here's a thought, they don't actually want you to buy it. They want you to buy BB10. But if you're willing to give them 400 bucks for one, they'll gladly take it. It's win-win. You get the phone you want, you?re thankful to BlackBerry for making another one, they get a healthy profit and keep you using BIS and BlackBerry.

And this is what happens in the real world:

Customer sees BB10 phone for 400$ unlocked.
He/She informs himself willingly or unwillingly (research he/she does by herself or research she/he gets presented by a trusted person) and then sees that 90% of the apps he/she wants to use won't be in BBW.
Combine it with BlackBerry's incredibly awesome image, their genuinely impressive marketing department and you can be sure that no BB10 phone was sold that day.

The same customer sees the 9900 and remembers vaguely, that a long time ago, there were phones without a touchscreen and real keyboards.
He/she then proceeds to laugh about the price, goes into the carrier store, and buys an Android/iPhone.

Posted via CB10

[solar1806]

I like 9900 than BB10

[Vae_Victus]

One thing I don't understand. If peoe say it's too expensive, why not get from ebay? Or am I missing something? No sarcasm intended. I am curious because I want 9900 but not sure why everyone says it's expensive. Yes it is, but why buy from BB?

[aronne_piperno]

For the "we are on 2014" team:

Bold, Blackberry 7 (and its predecessor) and Bis package has a unique and completely different philosophy from touch oriented phones that cannot be found in any other device and cannot be replaced by just sticking a keyboard over a touch oriented smartphone (even if stylish and well manufactured, like the q10 and the q20)

I love touch devices (I use my galaxy note 8 tablet as productive item) but, at the same time, I still work with my Bold 9780 as phone/email device and this one cannot be replaced from any modern phone, because of Bis, keyboard, style, ergonomic, and battery duration

That's why the 2/3 of new Bb bought on 2014 are still OS 7 and NOT BB10

Leaving the Bold 9900, in my opinion, and switching all the core business to the touch oriented big screen phone, was a big mistake

[1guitarguy]

Uggg so pointless these people need to stop clinging to the past os7 was great but os 10 blows it out of the water

Posted via CB10

[Bbnivende]

For the "we are on 2014" team:

Bold, Blackberry 7 (and its predecessor) and Bis package has a unique and completely different philosophy from touch oriented phones that cannot be found in any other device and cannot be replaced by just sticking a keyboard over a touch oriented smartphone (even if stylish and well manufactured, like the q10 and the q20)

I love touch devices (I use my galaxy note 8 tablet as productive item) but, at the same time, I still work with my Bold 9780 as phone/email device and this one cannot be replaced from any modern phone, because of Bis, keyboard, style, ergonomic, and battery duration

That's why the 2/3 of new Bb bought on 2014 are still OS 7 and NOT BB10

Leaving the Bold 9900, in my opinion, and switching all the core business to the touch oriented big screen phone, was a big mistake

The BBOS power user who would use a 9900 for emails and another phone for everything else is a very small group. The new Classic may be the best keyboard phone ever and can be used as your only phone. The majority of BBOS units out there are in countries like Nigeria where BIS is a valuable attribute. Here in NA the BBOS phone mainly sells as a corporate replacement.

If you used a Q10 like you would a 9900 you would find the battery lasting a very long time.

Are any carriers in NA even stocking the new 9900 or. The current 9720?