Verizon Touch Pro: Nov 24th for $350

November 12, 2008 in HTC, Handsets, Rumor Mill, Verizon

The HTC Touch Pro will be added to the Verizon Wireless lineup starting November 24th for the price of $350 but not without some confusion and disappointment. That price is AFTER a 2-year contract and $70 Mail In Rebate which makes it much more expensive than both Sprint and AT&T versions of the Touch Pro. And with less specs.

For some reason, the Verizon version of the HTC Touch Pro is somewhat crippled in comparison to the Sprint HTC Touch Pro and AT&T HTC Fuze. The RAM was dropped to 192MB, it doesn’t have an accelerometer and it also goes on sale later than on other carriers. It will be available on web and phone starting the 24th but in retail locations starting December 1st.

This development has everyone asking… “What Gives, Verizon?” And there are likely two answers to that:

Exclusive Deals
Carrier Subsidies
The BlackBerry Storm

Verizon getting the phone a little bit late could simply be because Sprint and AT&T worked out deals which rolled the phone out in a certain order of exclusivity. First Sprint would get it, then AT&T and finally Verizon. We don’t know that as fact but we’re guessing - it seems like a negotiatable perk to include this in manufacturer-carrier contracts and agreements.

How much is Sprint, AT&T and Verizon willing to pay HTC per device? Perhaps Sprint and AT&T saw more value in the phone than Verizon does and the price is reflecting that. Why make concessions to HTC with the Touch Pro when the Storm is their goto phone?

The BlackBerry Storm WILL be the more popular phone this holiday season and it will be found EXCLUSIVELY on Verizon Wireless in the United States. Can you even - for a second - blame Verizon Wireless for giving the ONE phone that is supposed to MAKE their holiday season a little bit of an advantage? The Touch Pro isn’t a competive advantage… Sprint and AT&T both have it. But the Storm sets them apart.

On the other hand, if Verizon went out of their way to make the HTC Touch Pro worse… and still cost more… that’s pretty pointless and completely counter-intuitive.

HOWEVER… don’t you remember that rumor, way back when the BlackBerry Storm was thought to be the BlackBerry Thunder, about how if Verizon didn’t sell enough units of the device it would open up the Storm to other carriers as well? Perhaps this could be coming into play here.

The sad part is, we’ll probably never know the true story behind all of this. On the bright side, the HTC Touch Pro and BlackBerry Storm are both coming to VZW in less than a month. And that, my friends, is reason to celebrate.

[Via Endgadget Mobile]

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