Since Research in Motion (RIM) is taking a long time to release the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in the Philippines, grey-market sellers are making a killing with these handsets by directly importing them from the US.
A number of stores have been spotted in Greenhills carrying the new Bold 9900 — the cheapest is around Php33k while others, including online sellers, command up to Php37k for the device.
If that’s the going rate, it’s possible we’ll see the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in the Php28k range, just like how the Torch 9800 was priced when it was introduced here last year.
BlackBerry Bold 9900 specs:
• 2.8″ capacitive touch screen display (640×480), 287 dpi resolution
• QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad
• 1.2 GHz processor
• 768 MB RAM
• 8GB on-board memory,
• microSD slot supporting up to 32GB
• NFC technology
• 5MP camera w/ 720p HD video recording
• Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor
• GPS with aGPS support
• Dual-Band WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n @ 5GHz
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 1230 mAh Li-Ion battery
• BlackBerry 7 OS
We had first dibs to check out the Bold 9900 back in June and was impressed with the form factor and performance:
The NFC support is also in question since there’s no practical use for it now. We tried it in the Bold 9900 and the Nokia N9 and the technology is actually impressive.
We’ve also heard of reports that some sellers are also offering the CDMA version (Bold 9930) for a lower price of around Php28k.
What’s still not clear is when RIM will eventually ship their new flagship phone into the country. My guess is late September.
Hat tip Nikko Valenzona.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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quifang says:
selling BNEW BB9900 for 25k
bulk orders: 5 or more for 23k
pm me through mail or text 0932.355.6648 / 0947.323.0778
Iutuio says:
Not that surprising that it is already around 25K in singapore. It will reach that price range in the Philippines a month after it officially launches.
It might be 18K after a month in Singapore
Randy says:
Magulat kayo ung price sa singapore nasa 25k..
tommybro says:
It’s not 28,500 anymore. It’s 28K. Sigh…
The price is taking forever to go down. It will surely go down, but at this rate, it might take a whole 2 months before prices go down to 20K.
I’ll just wait. Price drop might start to pick up when it get’s officially released here, probably in October.
Greg says:
Has anyone checked if they already have this at the Jump Experience Center in Megamall for testing?
Saucy Gal says:
28, 500 according to Pex. Just checked. Yeah! Looks like waiting does work. I won’t buy till you guys lower it to 16K!
Jack Lier says:
Just read somewhere that KIMSTORE’s price is now 29K and it has already gone down. What was the price before?
It is still too expensive.
Will it still go down?
Hope so, because it is still WAY TOO EXPENSIVE at 29,000.
I’ll wait for it to go down to 20,000.
Herbol says:
If you want to be entertained… get an Iphone, or its many brand equivalents…
But if you want a robust and reliable tool to help you with your business or earn a living.. get a BB… Don’t expect to be entertained though… For me, getting the job done is more than entertaining anyway…
cookiedilmir says:
Kimstore has lowered their price by 1500 to 30,000.
I think this will be the 1st of several price drops to find the highest price people are willing to buy this phone.
I for one won’t even test the phone if it’s not anywhere close to 20K.
You guys really want to buy this phone at 30K when the top of the line of Samsung and HTC are 26-28K only?
I could use my money for other things like saving up to treat my family on Christmas. The money you save can be used elsewhere.
Suzie Dormiton says:
The new HTCs and Samsungs…Wow…
Makes the Blackberry 9900 look ancient.
Kahit 15 Thousand pesos di ko bibilhin ang 9900.
Everything else is twice better with other manufacturers.
Julie says:
Cebu Pacific passengers/customers out there. Favor, kindly answer this super short survey. It’s for my Marketing Research class. Your help will be much appreciated. Thaaaanks! :)
http://tinyurl.com/CebuPacificSurvey
jonaflormicfren says:
Hope to find better outlet to acquire this one.
claudine says:
Pag na release po dito yan, lahat po ng stores meron na, and they will be competing sa price. Hintay hintay lang po, babagsak rin yan.
kangkung says:
Kimstore is selling it for 31,500.
Other retailers on line and not will surely follow that price right?
With prices going down, like this article mentions, 28K might be the launch price when it gets released here. Still quite expensive.
Hope it does go down to 20K in weeks.
goster says:
too bad blackberry’s popularity has already waned in my country, and i don’t think this thing will cause a hype here anymore…
Jamesdee says:
The interest really has fallen. They used to have BBM as their savior, but now others have similar offering.
And how can they market BBM when in a certain group of friends, let’s say 10, only 1 will have a blackberry. What’s the point of BBM?
BBM will only be worth something if a lot of people have Blackberries and that won’t happen with crazy prices. Bye bye BB.
Erick says:
I really don’t get why people compare blackberries to apple/android phones. The blackberry has it’s own niche. Blackberry is the messaging king, while android/apple phones cater to the “fun” stuff. If people would just pay attention, there are no graphic intensive applications on blackberry phones, so why does it need to have dual cores to compete? RIM is putting premium not on hardware but on their messaging technology that comes with the phone.
Basically what I’m saying is, decide what type of person you are: messaging wh0re, cool techie or a “sosyal” poser. The later tend to complain about the price… and honestly… they should not be looking at blackberry phones to start with.
yuiko says:
http://tipidcp.com/viewitem.php?iid=2958570
Price has gone down from 37,900 to 35,900. A 2K peso drop.
This is just the beginning. I expect them to lower prices 2K every 2 weeks or 4K every month until they find a price point that people are willing to bite.
Junee says:
Yup, they are not forcing us to buy. We are just making them realize that they are not only game in town. If they don’t listen, it’s fine, it’s their loss of customer.
Good for you that you bought one. No need to defend your purchase. You like your phone and that’s good. And it’s nice you have the purchasing power.
For others, such as myself, and others who have grown out of the tech addiction buy the latest craze even before checking all the user reviews, well, we are more discerning now with what we use our money on. There are others out there and I am just letting RIM and other user and future buyers know how to get the most bang out of their hard earned money.
Again, to teach RIM and the sellers about business and setting prices, to those who want more bang out of their money…
SIMPLY DON’T BUY.
It will go down before you know it.
ogago says:
why are you guy so effin affected with the price? they are not forcing you to buy their products, i myself bought this phone because it suits my lifestyle and because i can..
bnfldsa says:
Don’t worry. This phone’s price will surely drop within weeks of official release.
Let’s say it officially gets released at 28K. A month later 25K, a month after 25, it will probably go down to 23, and maybe stabilize at 20 before the year ends
blackyblack says:
Been using Blackberries in the past, but now new phones from Apple, and Samsung make my old blackberries look like they were from 20 years ago.
This new BB9900 still looks outdated and is still outdated on the inside. It should have been released a year ago. The price they are selling it now is last year’s price.
This should be half the price they are selling it now.
I won’t touch this phone at current prices. Crazy.
People, don’t give them your money if they are pricing it like this.
Teach them a lesson that we won’t give our hard earned money for overpriced gadgets.
This will make them wake up and think better about their pricing.
In general, not just in gadgets, don’t support those that price their items well above beyond what is reasonable for what you get.
RIM and other sellers here, I and all my friend and colleagues won’t touch your BB9900 until you price it at a reasonable price, and that is no where near the current prices that are around now (30K-37K)
People, let’s not support those that try to take advantage of our excitement and makes us lose our hard earned money while our brains are not thinking clearly.
Let’s wait for RIM and sellers to wisen up!
quzaqi says:
P33k for a phone? anyone who buys a phone priced that much with only that much in it (specs, i mean) is either stupid or really rich.
Crone Dilch says:
Don’t worry. This phone’s price will surely drop within weeks of official release.
Let’s say it officially gets released at 28K. A month later 25K, a month after 25, it will probably go down to 23, and maybe stabilize at 20 before the year ends
Junee says:
Isn’t technology and competition great.
With technology improving so fast, so many are being left behind forcing these slow companies to try harder.
Android and Apple have taken the lead while Nokia and RIM have taken the catch-up role.
If RIM can’t compete in specs, which they are not exactly doing with their flagship half the power of the flagship of other makers this year, they should at least compete in price.
Yeah, they’re competing alright. By making it higher than the competition! Hmmmm…. I wonder if that’s their idea of competition. If they can price their phone higher, they will feel like winners.
Sigh…….
They should change their CEO’s..
Blackberry Bold 9900 will around 20K pesos when Christmas season comes and no one is interested in buying a phone with last year’s specs at prices that can get a phone twice better.
If this phone is not around 20K, I would rather wait for HTC or Samsung to come up with another qwerty phone. I’m sure it will have the same specs as the BB9900 at half the price.
turkishimpdelight says:
Price will definitely drop below 25K in a month or two after official release.
This phone is around $500 without a contract in the US.
This phone is definitely overpriced.
It’s overpriced compared to it’s rivals.
And the Philippine price is overpriced compared to the US prices.
That’s double overpriced.
30K+ Come on! Galaxy S II is less than 28K and it has twice the processing power, a lot of apps to choose from, better camera, better etc….
A lot of competition is around. HTC Chacha. Galaxy M Pro. Whatever Galaxy Pro comes out in the near future.
RIM is pricing themselves out of the market.
Only die hard BB users will get this.
Here is a link to a nice explanation of how RIM failed with their pricing.
http://www.phonedog.com/2011/08/18/is-the-blackberry-bold-9900-too-expensive/
If you guys check crackberry you will see all the problems this phone has. It’s not as perfect as video and article reviews say it is.
Better read user experience before getting it.
http://forums.crackberry.com/
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-bold-9930-9900-f235/list-software-bugs-hardware-problems-rim-fix-640432/
Prices will surely go below 25K because at 25K, just add 3K more and you can get an HTC Sensation or a Galaxy S 2.
No-brainer. If only RIM would use theirs in pricing their phones.
ads says:
I saw it this afternoon too. Its way too early to buy. I will wait til the price go down to 25k and below. They are also selling the Verizon version at a lower price. From what i know verizon is using cdma so its not going to work here, I wonder whose going to buy those phones
tikyo says:
this is tech blog / review not an editorial column / blog as long we understand abe’s reviews,infos on the latest gadget were fine with his grammar…imo
ogago says:
haha natawa naman ako kay cjputa, ang yabang e kinuha lang din naman sa wiki definition nya, pinaltan lang ng couch ung chair :)
although he has a point..
John says:
i think its the best phone for qwerty phone lovers..
until the qnx phone next year.
Agrimensor says:
Only one thing comes to mind after reading the specs.
Hows the battery life?
jing says:
again and again, this is a technology blog. kung nagkakaintindihan din naman tayo dito, why bother on these comments about “slang” and grammar. language is intended to communicate… di ba ang motherboard, board nga pero hindi naman mother? mabuhay ka yuga! just continue… naiintindihan ka namin. hehe.. ako lang pala.
Bryce says:
magmumura pa yan! :) bibili ako…
^
Positive thinking, haha. :)
jego207 says:
Hahaha, tama.
jehzlau says:
Bought one sa eBay for 27.5k. O__O. Sana mag mura pa pag officially released na sa phils. :D
Joseph says:
Sir, is that a Verizon Wireless Model?
garz says:
I wonder what these guys do that they deserve to be sold at 30k+ compared to its Android touchscreen rivals?
Bob says:
I have always been content to just come to this site and not felt the urge to post except once before I believe but after reading your post I all of a sudden got the itch to put my two cents in. I’m and American who enjoys not only the articles on this site but also generally the atmosphere that is prevails here. Yuga in his replies that I have seen always come across as helpful and polite and that is one of the main reasons I keep coming back. I can say that there are no hard rules about slang in America and if he had used that phrase around a bunch of Americans not one would had felt the need to correct him and hardly any would had even noticed if it wasn’t used correctly and even if they did wouldn’t have bothered to correct it and in a second it would had been gone from their minds. I think this site compares favorably to most other tech blogs I’ve seen and I’m not talking about how whenever a Filipino will brag about how something in the Philippines is just as good as in America but once all the failings are pointed out to him he comes back with “But it”s pretty good for the Philippines”, I think this site is pretty good and not just pretty good for the Philippines.
You’re on a mission of failure to go around complaining that slang was used incorrectly such as was in this article because slang is incorrect from the start.
I hope I didn’t misuse any slang or phrases.
Brickz says:
cjputo was just giving advice and there’s nothing wrong with what he said. I agree with him because someone might read it and think that he was the only person that RIM chose to review the phone here in the Philippines. As cjputo said, the blog is getting more coverage and readers so there’s nothing wrong with staying safe and being mindful of what he posts.
garz says:
Some pinoys are just too technical to sound “cooler.”
Grammar Police says:
I agree with the observations of cjputo and jooomy.
Mistakes in grammar are excusable as English is not the blogger’s first language but to use slang words to appear cool and use it completely out of context is just embarrassing for a popular tech blog like yugatech.
I hope Abe Olandres takes these observatons constructively.
joooomy says:
@cjputo. i second the motion. hindi ako magaling mag-english pero napapansin ko rin yang mga napapansin mo. i’m not impress (sometimes disappointed) with sir abe’s use of words… anyways, yugatech is still the only pinoy tech blog i regularly read.
josh says:
Sir abe! my friend told me that he bought his bold 9900 for 29k sa greenhills:)
cjputo says:
Your blog is getting wider coverage and you should be more aware of American slang usage. You have a partnership with GMA now, I believe.
To call dibs on something means declaring ownership of a communal item i.e. I call dibs on the couch. The implication is that everyone is free to use the couch, but you are taking the couch captive for a certain period of time (exclusivity). This might be temporary, as in a sleepover; or permanent, as in the case of a garage sale. And in the case of companies, to have exclusive access to a product. You were just the first to do a review with no exclusivity involved.
Your grammar has always been terrible, but that is not the point. Please do not further add to your shame by being a “poser” and using slang in such an unthoughtful manner.
I know you have to copy from other bloggers, but do not paraphrase if there are slang terms in their sentences.
You have been covered in TechCrunch before, so I thought it might motivate you to be a bit more thoughtful, but I was wrong. Please, have someone check your work; it doesn’t even need to be for correct grammar, it’s just to check your work to avoid embarrassment.
I want you to succeed and have greater impact as a Pinoy tech blogger.
Bryce says:
If he’s trying to help Abe, maybe he could’ve emailed him instead of posting it here?
…just thinking aloud…
Miguel says:
There is no single English slang. Your definition is from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibs
While Abe follows Urban Dictionary’s definition:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dibs
which doesn’t include the communal aspect.
Brickz says:
@Richmond P. Nuguid Exactly. That’s why there’s always room for improvement. cjputo is trying to help Mr. Abe by giving advice.
Richmond P. Nuguid says:
Hindi naman lahat ng bloggers ay perfect……
Glenn Ong says:
Hey Abe! Kimstore is selling it for 31.5K. Got to ask a Greenhills stall and they’re selling it for 32K. I was told that they were able to sell more than 10 units already after 2 days.