AT&T pushing BlackBerry Bold to August?
updated 09:30 am EDT, Wed June 25, 2008
BBerry Bold August Delay
The BlackBerry Bold's launch with AT&T has been pushed back again until August, says a tip from "high-level" contacts at AT&T speaking to BGR. The 3G smartphone had once been penned in for July but is now reportedly delayed another month to sort out issues with short battery life and overheating, both issues that were identified in past leaks. An exact release date isn't available.
The news nonetheless contradicts reports that the BlackBerry Bold could be ready for Canada's Rogers Wireless before the end of June, suggesting either that both releases will be delayed or else that the AT&T and Rogers versions require significantly different firmware.
An August launch, however, supports earlier rumors from Fortune magazine that the Bold's AT&T release will have been intentionally moved to August to avoid clashing with the iPhone 3G, which would have been shipping at nearly the same time as the Bold with earlier July predictions.
The BlackBerry's creator, Research in Motion, has never officially acknowledged any development obstacles or release conflicts with the Bold.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
Delayed release
While it's better to not rush a product out the door to consumers before it's perfected it's also going to hurt sales with customers signing up on term commitments for the iPhone 3G.