September 24 will mark the day that both Bell and Telus will bring the BlackBerry Torch 9800 to Canadians.
Rogers is in on the act too, recently announcing that it will also be dropping the Torch on the 24th. To say that the three companies will be offering comparable plans on the BlackBerry product would be an understatement. From what we’ve been able to figure out, Bell, Telus and Rogers will all be issuing the Torch for $199 on contract.
Telus hasn’t exactly confirmed pricing yet, but I think it’s safe to say that the prices are generally right in line with Canada’s industry standards.
These sorts of hot products generally do hit Canada’s telecom giants at the same time and they do arrange their data plans and other facets around each other. The general rule is that the Big Three get first crack at new hot products and the industry, what’s left of it anyway, falls in line behind. That’s just the way it goes for Canadian customers, as they soon realize that there are few choices in terms of who to purchase new products from.
The Torch probably won’t make that big of a splash in Canada, at least right away, but the smart phone could be a decent long-term builder for RIM.
When it was first announced, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 was believed to be the product that would help RIM launch into the next phase. A game-changing phone in every way, the Torch was said to be a worthy rival to the iPhone 4. Of course, then the phone actually came out in the United States and reviews were mixed. The new O/S was a plus, but the rest of the phone just didn’t seem to cut it.