RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9000, the handset that promises "elegant design without sacrificing the features or functionality you expect from a premium smartphone", has been reportedly pulled from the shelves of UK operator Orange.
According to MobileTechAddicts.com, an internal Orange statement has revealed that BlackBerry Bold shipments are on hold due to widespread reports of software issues. The exact nature of the issues remains unknown, but the statement suggests that the suspension of sales may remain in place for a couple of weeks.
The handset, previously available for free on price plans costing £40 per month or more, has been dubbed by many as one of BlackBerry's best devices to date. Delays to market, however, have proven to be troublesome and U.S. customers are still waiting for the handset to make its debut.
The Orange statement reads:
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. We are currently awaiting feedback from RIM as to when an industry-wide fix for these issues will be in place, and expect this suspension to be an interim measure. We apologise for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. BlackBerry/RIM are doing everything they can to resolve this issue and will be completing full testing and validation to ensure future handsets do not have any quality issues. This may take a couple of weeks so it’s up to us to do what’s best for our customers.
Source: MobileTechAddicts.com