BlackBerry Bold hits choppy waters

One of the biggest questions I got after my coverage of the BlackBerry Storm earlier this week was this: What happened to the Bold? Delays, that's what, and now comes word that global wireless carrier Orange has pulled the Bold due to "software issues." Uh oh.

Mobile Tech Addicts got its hands on a leaked internal memo from Orange to its staff, and it reads in part: "Following reports of software issues with the BlackBerry Bold handset across a variety of mobile operators, Orange has decided to act in the interest of its customers by suspending shipments of the device in the UK."

The statement goes on to say that the "suspension" is just an "interim measure" and that RIM is "doing everything [it] can to resolve the issue," which could "take a couple of weeks."

The new comes on the heels of this story from the AP, in which RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said that the AT&T-branded Bold, which was supposed to hit AT&T's lineup over the summer, is still undergoing testing.

Lazaridis didn't blame the delay on problems with the Bold; instead, he said that AT&T wanted "to be sure on every last test" after all the "scrutiny … on that network and a certain device"—referring, of course, to the iPhone and its 3G reception woes. For its part, AT&T still insists that the Bold will go on sale before the year is out, the AP reports.

So, are we just talking normal aches and pains here, or did RIM rush the Bold to market before it was fully baked? Some bloggers are taking a wait-and-see approach: Engadget, for example, notes that despite the delays, they're "still hearing occasional whispers out of the AT&T camp that they're still pushing for an October release."

Others, however, aren't quite so kind. The Boy Genius Report writes that it "sounds like AT&T is not the only carrier having problems with this disaster known as the Bold," while InformationWeek opines that "things can't look much worse for the much-delayed BlackBerry Bold … which, at this point, appears to be boldly going nowhere." Yikes.

Related:
Orange internal statement on Blackberry Bold quality issues [Mobile Tech Addicts]
Plunge in RIM's shares could attract takeover bid [Reuters]