Trusted source: AT&T Bold 3rd week of August
 

I got this from a pal who buys a ton of cell phones for a very large company, which puts him in touch with insiders at all the carriers.

He told me that AT&T will be releasing the BlackBerry Bold 9000 in the third week of August, and possibly a couple of days earlier.

As a reporter, I can add the following to that:

RIM is silent on the subject, saying only it ships this summer; this is reasonable, since it is AT&T at this point, not RIM, with control over when it ships.

AT&T (their PR operations and their customer support operations) is silent on the subject; PR says only that they will be offering it but that there is no announcement of availability; customer service says that they don't know anything about it, but that's not unusual, their iPhone training was very last-minute, too.

I (as a reporter) and you (as individual buyers) don't have the contacts or the clout of a major buyer, and reports from such sources tend to be highly credible.

You may believe this or not, or the bloggers or not, but I for one sent word ahead to Zagg to be ready for a very fast turnaround on a new Invisible Shield - and I don't get my bold until a week or so after you guys can get one.

Whatever.

Wirelessly posted

Oh, okay...at least I'm not the only one that feels that way.

Wirelessly posted (By Super Blackberry)

After reading all these "Bold to be out this week of" threads I just want to know, are they planning on not saying anything on the release of this, like someone is going to walk into a store and see a Bold in the glass and think hey when did that come out? There will be commercials letting us know when its coming out until then we play the waiting game.

Wirelessly posted (8100 X 1.1111111 = BOLD (soon))

I'm not losing interest in the bold, but I am losing interest in its release.

I'm so done with the rumor mill. They just need to launch it already!

RIM's asia pacific sales manager said on a TV interview they will be releasing a new "smartphone" in mid august. I'm guessing he was referring to the Bold.

Most of the rumors see to be ending up on the week of 18 Aug. (IMO)

I too am so frustrated by the wait. In fact I am going to.....................wait.

That's a very bold (no pun intended) statement to make considering you really have no clue who posts on this website. It's not like a good majority of the Fortune 100 companies aren't represented here (granted, Wal-Mart is not much of a BlackBerry shop, although they are moving in that direction, but we'll exclude them for now).. and let's not mention the government agencies here as well.

To be honest, the tone of your post, which sounds like it was written by a pompous teenager rather than a condescending senior citizen, may not have lost you some credibility but definitely dissuaded anyone from really caring.

...and the 'last week of August or first week of September' timeframe for launch is not a new launch estimate. Given the iPhone was released in mid-July, the Bold was not going to launch anytime before mid-August. It doesn't take a genius to guess anytime after the third week of August for the launch. There's a three week window to choose from currently.

Met with the CIO of Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. Bugs in the calendar (ahem, anyone know about them) are holding up a huge deployment within Wal-Mart.

Back to the topic - good to know that the speculation continues. When I see one on my desk, I know it's been released.

At last we are getting the rumor from a "trusted source" LOL!

It's pretty presumptuous of you to assume or presume, let alone aver, that I have no idea who posts here. I do my homework and had already read thousands of posts here before I made any of my own.

And it displays a certain separation from some of the street realities of the segment to similarly presume that all large buyers are treated equally.

I am no longer a teenager but not quite yet a senior citizen, so those smears by you are both off-target; whether any given person regards me as pompous or condescending is a personal decision that does not need the support of libelous remarks from you, jibi.

What is true is that I am pragmetic, experienced, even veteran at interpreting the truth behind and the lies surrounding significant product introductions. I recognize and have (within these forums as elsewhere) identified the difference between rumor-mill, buzz, trusted and authoritative sources.

The sole "decider" (to borrow a Bush-ism) on the launch of the Bold in the US is AT&T. The hardware, firmware & software from RIM has already passed muster at other carriers in other geographies. Manufacturing has already begun.

What you do not account for in your petty snipes is the fabric of inside information that reaches people in my role, and the complicated set of rules that govern my ability to incorporate it in what I report (and this forum is not a primary venue for my reporting). In short, I am allowed to share such information only when I learn it from sources well apart from the originator.

So briefings I get off the record remain off the record, secrets I'm told remain secret and I don't break the rules of any NDA I ever sign.

When - as happened this time - I get credible information (and not running contrary to what I hear elsewhere is one small component of credibility) from a trusted source, I gain an opening to share what I learn from that source.

Self-aggrandizement has zero role in my motivations; I don't believe you can say the same for yours.

But if the forum at large wishes me to no longer share what I learn from the investigations I do as part of my "day job", please say so and I'll be happy to comply.

From a sales stand point... If a "buyer of large quantities of phones" approaches a sales oriented company, wouldn't that company feel the need to tell them whatever they want to hear? And wouldn't this reduce the credibility of your "source"?

For a first-time buyer of no major significance to the seller, maybe.

But in this case, if the seller (AT&T) doesn't manage to deliver pretty much as promised, it's a big enough risk that it may effect earnings, which makes any lies a literal Federal case.

mbw, thanks for sharing your info. while i am not that sophisiticated i share the other folks' skepticism but not any desire for you or anyone else who thinks he or she has new info to share. i'll keep fingers xxed it turns out to be good info. regards, bt

i work for a fortune 100 company (in fact we are in the top 20) and i post on here, so shove it! we also already have pre-release bold units in use within our company.

bummer. rereading my post i see it came out backwards. i'm fine with you or anyone else sharing any new info (whether or not it turns out to be solid). sorry i didn't proof better and it sorta sounded like i was ragging on you too. sh[rug]

Is that you Clark?

I have from an untrused source that the Bold will ship by Q1 of 2009. ;-)

Wirelessly posted (By Super Blackberry)

Kate Hudson has one so bam!