Orange could be dropping the BlackBerry Bold... forever

by Darren Murph posted Jan 4th 2009 at 2:13PM

The first time an unruly kid acts up in school, you just throw him in detention. The second time, you tell him to find another institution to be educated at. The same theory apparently holds true in the mobile realm, as Orange has had just about enough of the BlackBerry Bold's inexplicable hang-ups. A recent writeup over at the Telegraph has it that the carrier could be mulling the outright removal of the RIM handset from its lineup entirely. Why? Because of "ongoing technical issues" even after the phone was pulled once and re-released with an updated firmware. It's also noted that return rates for the Bold were well above the average, which is a surefire way to get yourself yanked from the lineup. We'd say that Orange loyalists better get their Bolds while they still can, but then again, maybe that's not the best idea after all.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Orange, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

Tags: BlackBerry, BlackBerry Bold, BlackberryBold, global, kill, killed, Orange, RIM

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

jackkerouac127 @ Jan 4th 2009 2:18PM

I wish that's what really happened to unruly kids in todays schools :-(

Neutral

Kenny H @ Jan 4th 2009 2:19PM

Is this an issue with all Bold's or just them reacting on that network?

Neutral

mndl632 @ Jan 4th 2009 3:03PM

a bit surprising as i work for o2 and we haven't had many Bold's come back since release, could just be something with orange.

Highest Ranked

Blackhawk @ Jan 4th 2009 4:00PM

RIM is getting famous for selling their phones with beta quality software to grab the holiday shoppers. It is time the carrier smacks them.

Neutral

WirelessGeek @ Jan 4th 2009 4:07PM

No phone is released by a carrier without going through the carrier's approval process. While the Bold may be as bad as rumors say, the issues should have been discovered before it was offered up for sale to customers. If the approval process was followed, the issues should be no surprise to the carrier. In this case, shame on the carrier for releasing an inferior product. If the approval process wasn't followed, then the same shame on the carrier for not protecting the interests of its customers and its investors.

Highly Ranked

Peej @ Jan 4th 2009 4:30PM

Orange should have followed AT&T with holding back and making sure the device was PERFECT on their network before releasing it into the wild. I waited for the bold from may until christmas day and it was well worth the wait, its absolutely superb on AT&T.

Neutral

Galen20K @ Jan 4th 2009 6:39PM

HA!

THere is NOTHING I mean Absolutely NOTHING Superb about JUnky ATT.

Neutral

carlo2 @ Jan 4th 2009 7:46PM

There is NOTHING superb about the name Galen. The one's I've known have been annoying and obnoxious.

Blanket statements suck, don't they.

Highly Ranked

MRCUR @ Jan 4th 2009 7:51PM

Although I agree with you on the stance that Orange should've waited longer in the first place, I absolutely disagree that the Bold is "perfect" on AT&T's network*. (*With the shipping software; .167)

When I first got my Bold it locked up and rebooted a lot, and dropped tons of calls. Now that I've gone through a few software updates, both beta and official (from other carriers), it's a lot better. I'm currently running the beta .217 OS and it's very good. I've also unlocked the other carrier themes so I have more choice (I use Orange's actually).

Neutral

JohnMidnight @ Jan 4th 2009 11:45PM

I never had any problems with version 167, didn't have any problems with 190. I do get drop calls, but considering the fact it only happens with a person on the Sprint Network, and lately hes been getting issues all around with Sprint to begin with in his area, not a problem.
I DO get dropped calls otherwise, but I got those even when I had a rzr... no biggy. Everything else works flawlessly. My only grip is that hey... could of dipped into a 512, even a 1 gig of Internal Application Memory! dinky 128 aint enuff...

Neutral

ozziedog @ Jan 5th 2009 10:11PM

I am on my fifth Bold that was running AT&T .167, .167 ranks right up there with Microsoft Windows OS. I tired .190, .210 and currently running .217 not the best but it has the least amount of problems. The dropped calls with .167 & .190 were on cell phones and landlines regardless of carrier. While AT&T may have run their battery of test before releasing the Bold there has to be something wrong with it. With all the beta OS that have been released it has to be one of two things a hardware issue or operating system or both problem. It appears that RIM's quality control is suffering. My two cents only.