BlackBerry Torch price already cut in half online [U]
updated 11:25 am EDT, Tue August 17, 2010
BlackBerry Torch already 100 at Amazon
(Update with some clarification) RIM's muted BlackBerry Torch launch may have already been supported by price slashes. The phone is already listed at Amazon and other areas for $100 on contract, or half its official price. AT&T still lists the phone at the original $200.
The cuts aren't as dramatic as for phones like the Palm Pre Plus and Microsoft Kin series, where price drops were considered urgent attempts to prop up rapidly falling phone sales. Amazon is often liable to cut prices on phones even from launch, but it only periodically cuts prices as deeply.
They may nonetheless reflect pressure on RIM to fuel sales online, where they might be sluggish compared to results from physical stores. RIM's audience is still led by business customers that may not have the option of buying the phone themselves or who are less likely to buy early on into a phone's life.
Apple has been a notable exception in its refusal to cut prices through any channel, although it will offer refurbished iPhones when they're available.
Update: RIM argues that the pricing has been $100 at Amazon since the phone launched on August 12 and contends that the pricing is no different than with other phones.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
That doesn't look good at all for RIM
I wondered why RIM was down today when most stocks are in the green. I guess demand is relatively weak for the Torch but it does seem very soon to be cutting prices. Not much confidence in the Torch catching favor. The Torch's display seems very dated but the rest of the device doesn't seem all that bad.