Amazon.com has RIM’s latest phone Blackberry Torch 9800 on sale for just $99.99, while AT&T sells it for $200 and a 2 year contract. When RIM rolled out BlackBerry Torch 9800 on August 12, Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO, called it as one of the most significant launches in the company’s history. The Blackberry torch 9800 failed to impress the market eventhough RIM managed to sell 150,000 Torch phones in its opening weekend.
The price cut from Amazon.com comes after some uncertain early reviews of the BlackBerry Torch 9800. The price tag of $200 was also a reason for concern when devices like the $200 Motorola Droid 2 Android smart phone with more powerful processor and larger screen comes in for $200. The price cut could be a sign of troubles ahead for the Blackberry Torch 9800 that was supposed to save RIM’s smart phone market.
Many analysts believe that the Amazon.com is most likely buying the smart phones directly from RIM, and not from AT&T. It might be one more example of Amazon.com putting a popular device on sale at deep discounts which has happened with many smart phones.
