No longer an iPhone world; Verizon users wait impatiently for Blackberry Storm
By Triston McIntyre
Though Apple might have hoped to lock down the market with the low-priced iPhone 3G, apparently Verizon customers aren’t willing to sacrifice service just to own Apple’s wonderchild. Those who refused to switch to AT&T have been rewarded with a competitively-priced flagship touchscreen of their own, namely the Blackberry Storm.
Everyone knew that the debut of the iPhone 3G would be rewarded with long lines outside AT&T retail locations, especially considering that the original iPhone claimed long waiting lines of its own. What people might not have expected is that the all touch-screen Blackberry Storm received a similar welcoming, according to Reuters.
And like the iPhone, not everything is going swimmingly with the Blackberry Thunder’s release. Though lines this morning were comprised of those with pre-orders and those hoping to get lucky, not everyone left Verizon locations with a Storm. Even some with pre-orders at multiple locations won’t be getting any satisfaction today because the demand for the Storm is so high.
One New Yorker’s experience might give you an idea of the demand for the Storm this morning; Lewis of Brooklyn said, “I guess 8 a.m. in the morning is too late.” Sorry buddy; apparently it is.
Those with pre-orders that weren’t able to get a phone this morning will be receiving theirs within the next week or so. That isn’t dissimilar from the release of the iPhone 3G, either. Apparently manufacturers and carriers can’t get their agendas and necessities in line, because there are a bunch of customers paying for pre-orders that simply aren’t getting them when the products are released.
Still, it would seem like the iPhone has some stiff competition on its hands. Between the Storm, the G1, and the Touch Diamond (or Pro), customers have a lot of options on the big four carriers. No doubt Jobs and his teams of genius designers are working on a new way to best the competition, but for now, the Storm is proving that the industry can’t rule out RIM and Blackberry just yet.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
under
Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
Stumble It!
November 21st, 2008
Hasn’t helped that erizon’s order processing system has been up and down all day, especially on the East Coast. Suggestion…if you were in a store earlier and got turned away as “none available”, you might want to check that store again. A lot of people left since they could process sales or activations and ordered online so some stores now have stock that they didn’t have earlier today. Doesn’t mean you TOO won’t be able to process/activate, but phone orders are now reportedly not shipping until December so if you can find a store that has units you better get your name on one!!!