RIM’s staggered Bold launch vs. Apple’s “all at once” approach

BlackberryNews.com has recently commented on the Blackberry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold release dates – and the keyword we are looking at here is staggered… to recap, here are the supposed dates:

July 29 – Rogers business customers

August 1 – Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK

August 4 – T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) Germany

August 8 – Rogers for general availability

September 1 or later – AT&T (NYSE: T)

In September – O2 (UK)

Late September – Telstra (Australia)

No new news there I think – however, what I wanted to pick up on was the different logistical strategy that RIM are employing, compared to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL). On the one hand we have the Cupertino giant who managed a multi-operator, multi-country, and multi-continent launch (oh yes, and mutli-lanugage!). RIM’s plan is completely different than that – stagger out the launch dates across it’s different territories.

Other obvious differences between the devices (Bold vs. iPhone3G) are the touch/non-touch elements, plus the customer segmentation (Multimedia Youth vs. Business). Of course these are not strictly clear-cut definitions, but it only serves to reinforce the very different approach of the companies, not in just the devices, but how they handle getting them in to the hands of their users.

Of course Apple suffered/are suffering with both device shortages, and the less-than-perfect MobileMe sync service – so given a few months, it will be great to see if RIM’s different approach meant a smoother launch, or one plagued by issues. We wait with baited breath………

[Via: BlackBerryNews.com]