RBC Capital: RIM sold 150,000 BlackBerry Torchs opening weekend

By on Aug 17, 2010 at 8:20 AM
Rumor August 17, 2010

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion sold right around 150,000 Torch handsets during its opening weekend. The sales estimates come courtesy of RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus. Curiously, the launch numbers keep being compared to the first weekend sales figures of the iPhone 4; which launched on June 24th of this year in five countries and on multiple carriers. The WSJ also calls into question the profitability of the handset for RIM. Research firm iSuppli pegged the cost of the slider’s components at right around $171 — with an additional $12 for manufacturing — bringing the total to $183. The LCD and Samsung flash-memory are the unit’s two most expensive parts and cost approximately $35 each. As a point of comparison, iSuppli estimates Apple’s iPhone 4 at $188 and the HTC DROID Incredible at $165. When compared component for component, the Torch’s part costs do seem a little steep. Again, the numbers are all speculative… but 150,000 seems to be an acceptable result for an opening weekend release on one carrier, no? What do you think?

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  • iName

    why are the costs so high for a phone with such low hardware spec?

    i think they sold 100,000 too much to be honest. i guest the buyers didnt know any better.

  • iamajim

    wish this phone would come to vz; not everyone wants or needs ios or android.

  • DroidSucks

    And now they are 50% off. POS loser wannabees…

    • DroidSucks

      Ayyy dont be hatin on me cuz the Torch sux!

  • SHO

    - My. I returned it the next day. I was so looking forward to this device. It was a big let down. BGR review was wriht on. Still have my 3gs and looking to get an Android.

    • Ernie

      Out of curiosity, what didn’t you like about it? The reviews have been mixed, but like you I have been looking forward to this phone.

      • SHO

        OMG the tin sound coming from the ear piece on every call. Pep heard me fine. This was a big surprise from RIM. The lag on the touch screen, Internet, etc. I liked my bold keyboard better. The on s screen keyboards are not good. Having to turn the phone and slide the it open. If I went from my Bold to this it would have ok. But when it comes to HTC, Iphone, Droids RIM has a lot of work to do.

  • Max

    BB Morons ain’t exactly whatcha might call ‘edjumicated’. You can resurrect a Razr, slap the BB logo on it, and they’ll eat it up.

    • Ernie

      What? Wouldn’t that be the same for Fandroids or Apple fanboys? It’s the same for all man.

  • ANTHONY

    I think the phone is fine but, it really is missing something… I don’t know just me.

  • Douglas

    For me personally, I would never go back to AT&T. I moved from Verizon for the 9000 when it came out and suffered through unimaginably poor coverage — and I live in downtown Los Angeles, CA. This is a major market, so no excuses. I hated them AT&T so much, I paid the ETF, unlocked my phone and moved to

  • Douglas

    For me personally, I would never go back to AT&T. I moved from Verizon for the 9000 when it came out and suffered through unimaginably poor coverage — and I live in downtown Los Angeles, CA. This is a major market, so no excuses. I hated AT&T so much, I paid the ETF, unlocked my phone and moved to T-Mobile. (Think about that for a second. I threw away $200 because I was so pissed off at them. That says a lot.) I’m now using a 9700 but want a Torch even though it’s a shit experience compared to, say an EVO or iPhone, which I have both used and returned. For me it’s all about battery life. Once battery technology catches up with current phone tech, I’m jumping off the BlackBerry train. It’s true, RIM doesn’t understand presentation. HTC and Apple do, which is probably why people Iike using their phones better, even if they may fall short in important communication functions compared to a BlackBerry. The Torch is slow, has a bad screen, has an awful onscreen keyboard (ever typed on an iPhone or EVO?), and has an outdated OS, but has just about perfect messaging capabilities as well as has a battery that lasts. For the time being, I’m willing to suck up the shortcomings of the Torch in order to have a larger screen (better for Twitter, Facebook and media) and great battery life, but I feel RIM’s time as a premier device maker has just about passed. It’s a shame because they weren’t overtaken by technology or a better device. They just sort of threw it away.

  • Douglas

    Sorry for the multiple messages. Typing on the iPad and accidentally clicked the wrong button.

  • Wake Up

    Name One Phone That Sold Better Opening Weekend on a Single Carrier in the past year Heck The Iphone with a once a year device, Subsidized Upgrades and The introduction of several features that have been standard on phones since 2000 had would have to sell 1 in 11 of there phones in the US, a number significantly less than the number of companies it is sold in

    • Brandon

      Apparently the Droid X sold nearly double the 150,000 that the Torch did on launch weekend:
      http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-apple-being-hurt-by-the-new-droid-x-2010-07-19?dist=afterbell

      I’m not sure how accurate the numbers are, but I’m confident that they’re no less accurate than the rumored sales numbers of the Torch.

      I had a friend complain the other day about wanting a Droid X….but apparently they’re still sold out. And Best Buy is still doing something like pre-orders. Where you pay $50 to reserve a phone and they will contact you when they get a shipment.

  • roger brewster

    If you actually wanted a more truthful number it would be more like 61,489 units are in the hands of paying customers as of August 18, 8:42 EST.

  • John

    I just love it.
    It has everything a BB used to have plus a very good browser.
    I had an iPhone 3G before and I really don’t miss it.
    One thing could have been better: the touchscreen keyboard :( But who cares when you have a physical keyboard?

    • Max

      Liar. No way you would leave an iphone for this POS.

      • meske

        Seriousley? A lot of people still like the physical keyboard and the BB interface. I don’t thin you’ll see a lot of people switching for the torch, but there will be some.

  • Zachcos

    I think every reviewer needs to stop comparing everything to the iPhone 4 sales numbers. I know iPhone4 had incredible numbers and whatnot, but RIM never said this is an iPhone killer, and clearly, they don’t care about trying to make an i-device knockoff because of the completely different design. (iPhone=slab, Torch=slide w/ physical qwerty)

    Phone companies make phones to fill different niches for different customers, and I’m sure the majority of those 150,000 customers are perfectly happy. I will admit that RIM needs to step up their device specs if they want to compete with the specs of the iPhone and the vast majority of Android phones coming onto the market.

  • a

    junk junk junk

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