Update: BlackBerry Bold hits stores

Computerworld - AT&T stores today began selling the new BlackBerry Bold smart phone for $300, after a $100 mail-in rebate and a commitment to a two-year voice and data plan.

The phone operates exclusively in the U.S. on AT&T networks, including its 3G service over HSDPA, which is available in 320 cities, AT&T Inc. officials said in a statement. It also comes with GPS and Wi-Fi. The device is also available online from AT&T.

The Bold hit the market after several new smart phones were launched in recent weeks, prompting some analysts to predict there would be no lines to buy the device. But an AT&T spokesman said "it was a very good first day" with lines sometimes 20 to 25 people deep at the start of business at some stores in several major cities, including Boston, Chicago, Houston, the greater Los Angeles area, Las Vegas, Charlotte, N.C. and the New York metropolitan area. Several stores sold out of the device by late morning, he said in an e-mail.

While Apple stores saw long lines for the iPhone 3G when it arrived in stores in July, there were short lines at nearly all locations for the first day of sales of the T-Mobile G1, which runs on the Android operating system, when it went on sale last month.

The BlackBerry Bold smart phone went on sale today at AT&T stores and its Web site for $300.

Jeff Bradley, senior vice president for devices at AT&T Wireless, called the Bold the "best BlackBerry smart phone ever," noting in a statement that it has a variety of pre-loaded applications such as AT&T Navigator, Yellowpages.com Mobile, and access to music and video clips. AT&T has described the device as a well-rounded handset for business and consumer users with access to e-mail, voice, Web browsing, and features such as music and video.

There are 18 applications focused on business users, who work in such areas as health care, financial services, field sales and service and CRM, AT&T said. Bold also works with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, offering IT administration and security for Lotus Domino, Exchange and Novell GroupWise, as well as BlackBerry Professional, an application for smaller businesses. The Bold also supports the BlackBerry Internet Service, offering push-based e-mail for as many as 10 e-mail accounts.

The Bold is black with a chrome frame and a VGA display with a full QWERTY keyboard for fast typing. It comes with a 624-MHz processor, 1GB of internal storage and a 16GB expansion slot, and a 2-megapixel camera.

Customers who buy an unlimited data plan with the Bold (starting at $30 a month) can get free AT&T Wi-Fi service at 17,000 locations, including Starbucks outlets. Voice and data plans are required for two years with purchase of the phone, and voice plans start at $40 a month.

The Bold was previously known as the BlackBerry 9000.

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