RIM Sees 150,000 BlackBerry Torch Handsets Off at Launch, But Labeled a Failure


Tough break for RIM who sold 150,000 BlackBerry Torch handsets at launch, but sales were labeled “underwhelming” by Goldman Sachs. Considering the general consensus on the BlackBerry Torch 9800, that it’s not really a game changer and will likely only appeal to hardcore BlackBerry fanatics, 150,000 smartphones at launch isn’t all that bad. Of course, when you’re comparing it to the 1.7 million iPhone 4 handsets sold during its launch, the Torch begins to look more like a flicker than what its name suggests.

The numbers have come from RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus as Know Your Cell reports:

Now, analysts at both RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus have issued sales estimates for the Torch’s opening weekend, which is comprised of the four-day period beginning August 12.

Both firms estimate that sales over the first four days came in around 150,000 units, The Wall Street Journal reports.

150,000 units sold during a phone’s first weekend of availability is nothing to scoff at.

Indeed, the number of handsets sold is nothing to scoff at as it still earned both RIM and AT&T a hell of a lot in terms of hardware and contracts signed. Now that numbers are out, even when compared to giants like Apple and Motorola and HTC, it seems that the words “underwhelming” and “failure” are really poor labels given the BlackBerry Torch’s initial launch.


[Via: Know Your Cell]

  • Derrich

    Amazon already has the Torch for $99 with a two-year. Isn’t that a little too soon for a phone that was just released? http://amzn.to/dtrzE8

  • marinperez

    Yeah, I think it's tough when you compare it to the Apple iPhone with its gazillion units sold during the launch weekend. 150K in a few days is a great number and I'm sure that it's up there historically with RIM's best launch.

  • Crawdaddct

    The problem is it launched on AT&T. I know if I could stomach AT&T, I would get a iPhone. If the Torch would have released on Sprint, I would have bought one yesterday. Instead, I preordered a Epic.

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