T-Mobile Introduces White BlackBerry Pearl
T-Mobile will be introducing a white version of the BlackBerry Pearl, while at the same time bringing the price down to $149 with a two-year contract. The Pearl has quickly become the carrier's top-selling smartphone.
The phone will be available exclusively through T-Mobile, as was the original version of the phone when it was released last September. It is widely credited with catapulting Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices, into the consumer segment.
The company added 875,000 new accounts in the quarter ending December 2, 2006, about 50,000 more than financial analysts had been expected. Cited as a driver for the strong growth was the success of the Pearl itself.
Its appeal outside of BlackBerry's traditional business customer base is quite apparent: 3 out of every 4 customers who were upgrading to the device traded up from a standard phone. Additionally, 80 percent of Pearl users are using the device for personal rather than corporate use, T-Mobile said.
"The BlackBerry Pearl has set the bar for combining the functionality of a full-featured BlackBerry phone and the ultimate in style, all at an affordable price," said Mike Butler, Chief Marketing Officer, T-Mobile USA. "Now, the white BlackBerry Pearl provides our customers with another effortless, yet stylish, option to stay connected with loved ones."
The device is also compatible with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows users to add five non-network numbers to their unlimited calling plans.
To use the phone fully, a subscriber must add the unlimited data option to his or her plan. Currently, that add-on is priced at $19.99 per month.