AT&T Slashes BlackBerry Torch Price  BlackBerry Torch |
America’s second largest mobile-phone carrier AT&T Inc has slashed the price of the RIM’s BlackBerry Torch by 50% to boost the sales of this smartphone.
The smartphone is selling now at $99.99 with a two-year contract from the $199.99 when it was started selling the Torch three months before.
The move is aimed at competing with rivals like Amazon.com Inc, where the device sells for as little as 1 cent, and Wirefly.com, which sells the device at $29.99.
Both these sites were charging the Torch at $99.99 before.
However, Blackberry maker RIM would get the same money for the products it sells through the carriers. It is a market strategy to subsidize the price of mobile phones to help lure customers.
RIM's Torch was the first device to combine a touch screen with a full Qwerty keyboard. There are a number of text input options for the touchscreen such as Qwerty in landscape mode, and Qwerty, Suretype and multi-tap in portrait mode. The user can switch between these modes easily. There are also so many other useful features like social networking, 3G and App World with the set that can mesmerize a customer.
"We are pleased with the business and consumer response to the Torch," said a spokeswoman for AT&T.
"The promotional price is obviously an amazing value and we think it will attract a lot of interest in retail channels," Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM said.
