So I read the post on BGR this morning about the 8220 being released by TMobile, and one thing really stuck with me. "the Pearl Flip is going to take the cell phone market for 13-year old girls by storm" may have been a flippant remark, but it got me thinking. Is this the intent of RIM? Is this device any more appealing to teens than a Pearl or a Curve? Does the price push it to the younger demographic rather than form factor?
I think its aimed at the people that might want a blackberry/smartphone but refuse to go to anything but a flip phone. I know several people that have flips because their phones take a good amount of abuse and the flip protects them (they don't want cases).
I do think its a consumer type device and might compete with the pearl but will draw in a lot of the above mentioned customers.
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@JSanders - My post was not saying anything bad about targeting a new demographic or selling more devices, of course that's the ultimate goal. What puzzles me is, I don't see how this could be the goal of the 8220, neither the price or form factor say "teen" to me, especially when the initial offering is in black.
I'm sorry, I hate flip phones, they can be broken too easily. More moving parts=more things to be broken. But then again, that's me and how I am. 13 yr. old girls don't think that way, so I'm sure plenty of them will have daddy buy then one. Which they will then make daddy buy them another BB in 2-3 yrs.
I think the new samsung that is released 11/17 will grab the teen segment. Most of our teens that get pearls or sidekicks want it for texting not really email. the samsung will capture that audience since it has a full keyboard and doesnt require any type of data package just texting. All that said i think the flip design will do well in the market and help Rim expand its subscriber base.
8220 - Attract New Demographic
