Fido, which recently underwent rebranding that saw it reposition itself as a bonafide low-cost carrier, is pushing its parent company Rogers Wireless for permission to sell BlackBerry smartphones in time for the holidays. Fido had killed its BlackBerry Connect services earlier this year as it simply didn’t have any BlackBerry devices in its lineup. As such, Fido found itself paying royalties for an product that it essentially didn’t even offer. Now with the skyrocketing popularity of data-dependent smartphones and thousands of customers who have a BlackBerry feeling left out, Fido sees that it’s failure to offer BlackBerry devices and services is an opportunity cost it would rather not have. Specifically, Fido is looking at selling the WiFi-enabled and UNO-capable (think T-Mobile’s UMA and Rogers’ TalkSpot) 8120 Pearl leading up to the holidays and then adding the 8220 Pearl Flip to its catalog after the holidays. In addition to this, Fido would offer support for all other BlackBerry handsets and devices that feature BlackBerry Connect. Sounds good, yes?
Thanks, SaxMan!
