AT&T Surprised The BlackBerry Torch 9800 Isn't Selling Better

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Many saw the BlackBerry Torch 9800 as RIM’s big play in the smartphone game. After all, it was supposed to combine the luxuries of a touchscreen phone with that rock-solid BlackBerry keyboard and e-mail connectivity. But by some accounts the phone hasn’t been selling all that well for AT&T and RIM, and now we’ve got some confirmation of that from an AT&T executive.

The idea that the Torch 9800 comes from mainly two sources – Wall Street analysts and special sales for the phone. Firstly, the phone has dropped it price since it was first introduced, definitely not a sign of high demand. Secondly, several big market analysts did their research and found that almost all AT&T stores they called had the phone in stock.

Further, some stores said that most of their Torch 9800 sales were upgrades to exisiting BlackBerry customers on AT&T. AT&T, as the carrier, makes no money on phone sales to old customers. They make their money on signing you to another two-year contract.

But all of that was conjecture until recently. Fred Devereux, AT&T’s President of Operations for the western United States was heard talking at the “Mobile Future Forward” conference in Seattle. He said that he was “surprised there hasn’t been a faster adoption” of the Torch 9800. Mr. Devereux also said that he felt the Torch 9800 was the best BlackBerry yet.

Take it as you will. Any Torch 9800 owners want to comment about the perceived poor sales of the device? Is it worth it? Tell us about it in the comments section.