Palm recently announced that they would be closing all their retails stores. While there was some initial confusion, it was eventually determined that only the seven stores located in malls would be closed. The remaining 26 airport stores are owned and operated by Airport Wireless which, until this closure, had a tight partnership with Palm. The stores will remain open, but the company is broadening their reach by adding new devices and accessories including, of course, the BlackBerry. While the company is in talks with Palm to continue having their devices in the stores, at the moment the decision is up in the air. RIM’s been starting to get more involved in the retail side of things, so this is the perfect opportunity to edge into Palm’s spot, especially considering Palm’s OS delay and 43% profit drop last year, and not to mention the whole Foleo debacle.
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Earlier this week, RIM partnered up with Wireless Giant to launch a dedicated BlackBerry store, which is a pretty big step. The more hopeful among us might see this as a sign of a larger move away from carrier dependency, while others might see the opening as a cute pilot project that won’t really go anywhere. Regardless, BlackBerry now has a real brick-and-mortar consumer home in Michigan, and its success will determine how much further RIM goes with the idea. This week we’re asking BBCool readers: will BlackBerry stores spread? Is it commercially viable? Can you see a branch in every major city? How do carriers feel? Does it work to their advantage or detriment to have comparable plans right next to one another? As for the prize for the best comment, this week we’ll be giving away the Curve or Pearl skin of your choice from the fine folks at DecalGirl.
T-Mobile has recently expanded their Business Partner Programme to include BlackBerry resellers, dangling 17 benefits (like lower pricing on handsets, marketing support) and good commissions as bait. Those retailers have to meet some standards, though: T-Mobile will only approve deals with resellers who can sell on a quarterly basis 150 BlackBerry connections, 120 of which must be at least 2-year contracts. Olive Communications is a prime case study on how this kind of partnership can do really good things for retailers. Other existing UK partners include WN1 Communications and BusinessMobiles, with plenty more in tow.
