Last minute rebranding decision by RIM?
The new BlackBerry flip phone that we have been calling the KickStart 9100 seems to have undergone a last-minute rebranding and model number change by RIM. It would appear that the first BlackBerry KickStart 9100 will be released as the BlackBerry PEARL 8220.
While this must make total sense to someone at the RIM corporate HQ, take it from us, this was a bad decision. The KickStart name sounded cool and was a total hit in the BlackBerry community, and to be totally honest we don’t even think this phone fits into the PEARL product family because the phone is nothing like the PEARL phones that they have released with this branding in the past.
In the end, the decision to rebrand the KickStart as part of the PEARL family is likely to go down as a decision that just does not seem on the surface to be a good one. While the PEARL branding does have the name recognition that RIM might be seeking, it really isn’t anything like a PEARL and we would not be surprised if this does not wind up causing more consumer confusion than anything else.
Still, it is a unique and good looking phone that is going to be released in some hip colors at a very reasonable price and should attract some attention from buyers that are looking for something different in a BlackBerry device in a unique form factor.
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