One of our regular readers named Amit sent us an email this morning with a question that, if the answer is yes, will make many Verizon subscribers very happy.
Is the BlackBerry Pearl coming to Verizon sooner than we thought?
Amit writes:
I was browsing around on the Verizon Wireless site and typed Pearl into the search window. The BlackBerry section of the site came up but there was no BlackBerry Pearl to be found. Then I thought, why would anything come up. I didn’t search for BlackBerry Pearl, just the word Pearl. Verizon must have set a trigger to take anyone searching for Pearl to their BlackBerry page. Could this mean what I hope it means?
I can’t say for sure what exactly this means. What I can say is that when you search for Pearl on Cingular’s site you only get links about Pearl Jam ringtones in return and we know that Cingular is definitely coming out with the BlackBerry Pearl soon.
Verizon is usually last to come out with new BlackBerry devices, however, when you look at the company overall, they are often first to come out with the latest and greatest consumer devices. Could it be that that Verizon sees the BlackBerry Pearl as a consumer device that they can make a killing off of now, but, possibly not a year after everyone else but Sprint has it?
I think that the window of opportunity on a consumer devices is much smaller than on devices used by corporations. Verizon knows that their corporate BlackBerry users aren’t going to abandon their network simply because they don’t offer the latest BlackBerry at the same time everyone else does. Studies have shown, however, that consumers aren’t nearly as loyal to carriers if the the mobile devices they want aren’t offered.
Is the BlackBerry Pearl coming to Verizon sooner than we thought? I certainly hope so. One thing that we know for sure, however, is that time will definitely tell.
Wow, that piece had more speculation than actual news …
Actually, it is all speculation and zero news. Just thoughts, opinions, and what ifs.
all it is, is a few verizon customers yet again hoping for some cool phones. The rest of us know cool is the global standard and that standard is GSM.
I cannot remeber where I heard this but I believe that the next generation of GSM will be a lot closer to what CDMA currently is than you might think. Just becasue more people use GSM doesn’t absolutely mean that it is better.
Trying to get a Verizon user of switch to another carrier is like getting a BlackBerry user to switch to Windows Mobile or Palm.
That conjecture makes NO SENSE. You type in Pearl and it takes you to the Verizon Blackberry homepage to show you what they want you to get instead – plain and simple.
A more insightful comment would be on the time to market it took Verizon for previous new blackberry models – any ideas?
my experience: been with sprint flip phone for years, good service/coverage…but trying out the Cingular Pearl right now. Phone is GREAT. Cingular is not. many “call failed” when trying to make an outgoing call. No drop calls(good), and much much static on calls. Sigh….
My Take: Verizon did that so you can see what they have to offer. The search bar is just marketing anyway…pretty smart on their part. Maybe some who want the Pearl will settle on the slightly larger 7130e..thats something I’m thinking about myself….
This is definitely good marketing on Verizon’s part. There is no question that people will search for the pearl on their site. It only makes sense for them to at least show you what they have.
Forget putting “Pearl” in your Verizon Search…Put “PEARL 8130” VERIZON STATES CLEARLY IN TWO ARTICLES THAT THEY WILL HAVE THE PEARL 8130 IN 2007!!!
It says on the Verizon Website that the Pearl will be coming out soon. I’m guessing November right before Thanksgiving because that is when their new phones come out every year.
When I first went to Verizons website just a few minutes ago, their picture section showed the Pearl. THey have a new block with pictures of news and phones center page… When I first went to the page, a picture of the Pearl was on the site as well as three other phones. But the picture changed to quickly for me to realize what else the section said. When I try to reload the page and get the picture back, it does not come up. Did I somehow stumble upon somethign I wasn’t supposed to?
If you go to the new phones section on Verizon’s page it will take you to that first picture that pops up when you go to verizonwireless.com
I heard from a Verizon Big Wig (yes, I’m serious… I know him through a friend) that the Pearl will be shipped 11-17. They had an in-service on Wednesday. Too long to wait as far as I’m concerned considering early reports mentioned 11-1 & 11-8…
Guess we’re still in for a few weeks wait…
I spoke to a verizon rep and she told me that the pearl would be available on Nov 8th on stores but pre-orders will take place tomorrow. It will launch on the verizon web site tomorrow
great news. do you think any features will be disabled w/ Verizon? Any hesitation b/c its the first attempt with Pearl+Verizon? Product seems stable with other carriers
la la la la laaaaa