BlackBerry 9530 Storm pricing revealed on VZW staging server

Ah, now this is a bit more solid pricing information. Verizon's testman pre-launch site now lists the BlackBerry 9530 Storm for $219.99 under a 2 year contract. Not quite below the $199 threshold set by the iPhone 3G as predicted by some analysts. Then again, the fat lady isn't singing yet so maybe we'll see some kind of mail-in rebate before this gets officially official. Without contract, we're looking at $520 according to the staging server. Pretty close the prices we saw hinted at early last week. See that screen grab and another for the $290 one-year contract after the break.

Update: It's worth stressing that these prices could just be leftover placeholders. In fact, much of the describing text refers to the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone which currently sells for a pre-rebated price of $219.99.

[Via Howard Forums, thanks Paul]

[Brian @ Nov 11th 2008 7:53AM]

I checked there site and didnt see that...?????

[tom @ Nov 11th 2008 8:19AM]

STAGING SERVER!!! A server not accessable by public, it is used for internal testing

[gad get @ Nov 11th 2008 8:52AM]

I apologize for tom. He's forgotten how to not be a jerk when pointing out the not-necessarily-obvious. What he meant to say was: you may have noticed that in the headline it reads "pricing revealed on VZW staging server", from which we can deduce that this information is currently to be found only on a server controlled by Verizon, that is reserved for testing, a server that's inaccessible to the general public. Thus, you will not see it when visiting the site, as it is not actually on the internet proper.

OK, that just came off as utterly condescending; I think I like tom's reply better.

[zargon @ Nov 11th 2008 7:36AM]

So $119 for the new every 2 program, not bad... looks like a early x-max present for me.

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Nov 11th 2008 7:46AM]

i've found they sometimes don't offer the ne2 discount on all phones via internet sales...

[zargon @ Nov 11th 2008 8:21AM]

I have only used the new every 2 once, so I guess I am not sure how it works. But mine isn't up until the first part of December, so hopefully I can get it either online or in the store. I can also wait a bit if I have too.

[Msky @ Nov 11th 2008 8:08PM]

$219 ... tempting ... very tempting.

[Fed @ Nov 11th 2008 8:02AM]

Well there goes $600.. having a good job rules!

[Eddie Dollaz @ Nov 11th 2008 8:08AM]

$119? Am i missing something here?

[zargon @ Nov 11th 2008 8:20AM]

If you are talking about my comment, Verizon gives you up to a $100 credit after 2 years and as long as you resign for another 2.

[m3nphls @ Nov 11th 2008 12:20PM]

$100 NE2 is if you have a plan of $79.99+....but anything under that you only get $50

[Ed @ Nov 11th 2008 8:24AM]

Just got a flyer in the mail from Verizon about a private release party for the Storm Nov 17-21, no word on pricing!

[Anticrawl @ Nov 11th 2008 8:21AM]

I wonder what the stipulations on upgrades are. If even though I'm not at my upgrade date yet I can buy this phone at the upgrade price considering I'll have to upgrade my plan to add the blackberry service and data. I don't want to have to pay 519 US dollars but I saved up 800 for the phone just in case. Was hoping I could use that money for some swanky new accessories and pay off the year of data but gotta do what I gotta do. Sucks being a techophile sometimes.

[Eddie Dollaz @ Nov 11th 2008 8:25AM]

yeah i got it now zargon, i would be new to vzw so i'm unaware of their programs. Why is vzw so expensive? I pay roughly $85 (after taxes) on tmo for 1000 min, unlimited data and messaging. The cmparable plan on vzw would run me $120...and thats before taxes!

[FOREX @ Nov 11th 2008 9:44AM]

"Its the network." ... and in all honesty it is.

[ieatpopkorn @ Nov 11th 2008 8:27AM]

Actually the staging server is accessible. http://testman.verizonwireless.com

Enter your address as Pheonix, AZ then go to "View all Blackberry devices" and you will see the Storm placeholder.

When you click the link to the Storm on the BB page, it is the exact same page as the 8830.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Nov 11th 2008 11:46AM]

Maybe there's a reason my staging servers are... oh, I don't know.. NOT PUBLIC.

Then again, nobody cares that much about our new releases :)

[jonasthebonus @ Nov 11th 2008 8:37AM]

I hope the actual price is lower because I wanted to get one for my wife and I, and was really looking for the rumored $99. Especially with the $30/mo data plan you have to get. We'll see I guess...

[Todd @ Nov 11th 2008 9:11AM]

the $99 storm will not happen until the next best thing comes out and this phone is going out the door.

[Live Crunch @ Nov 11th 2008 8:53AM]

Thanks for posting this, if you combine this pricing and Zdnet post you get this outcome! Release date and price isn't that all we want to know?

http://www.livecrunch.com/2008/11/11/blackberry-storm-release-date-and-price/

[Nikhil @ Nov 11th 2008 9:14AM]

Can I buy this with a two year contrac through my business plan and then cancel after a month... Do I have to give back my phone with the ETF or do i get to keep the phone. FYI I intend to

With the 90 dollar price being touted for business account... isnt 90(phone price) +150 (ETF)+ 80(first month bill)=320 lower than 520...

Not sure about the activation fee... but i guess it has to be paid in both situations...

am I getting it right or is there a catch

[m3nphls @ Nov 11th 2008 1:37PM]

Nikhil, even if you do that the phone will be useless for you. Verizon requires you to use the service for at least 6 months to give you any unlock code for the device. This was done with the Blackberry Global 8830 and the Motorola Z6 Global so I'm sure the Storm won't change.

[Todd @ Nov 11th 2008 9:10AM]

Will someone who knows what they're talking about explain what the price will be if you already are a VZW customer, but are on year 1.5 / 2 for the new every 2 deal? Will it still be $219 (or whatever the final price ends up being) but require a new 2 year contract?

[polvadis @ Nov 11th 2008 10:22AM]

I'm not sure how you can ask about the price being that no one really knows it for sure yet. $219 could be just a guess, but it would be a new 2 year contract deal, not a 'new every 2' deal. I've been with Verizon for some 8 years now and the prices for phones are usually just a bit more when you upgrade than when you sign up new with Verizon.

I have also started to notice ads that give you the price for a new 2 year contract on the phone, but somewhere else in small print give you the price for 'upgrading'. Best Buy does it for one.

But that said, if you actually call Verizon and smooch them a little they can get you a better deal. I called them simply to ask how much I would have to pay to get the Blackberry Pearl, it was gonna be $80 bucks for the phone but $20 extra a month for the data plan. I didn't want the extra plan for now, so I declined, and needless to say I could have gotten the phone for free that day if I just upgraded to the data plan.

[Joe @ Nov 11th 2008 11:07AM]

I went into the VZW store this past weekend to get on the waiting list for this phone. I'm also about 6 months shy of my New Every 2 date. The rep told me that I'd still qualify for an Annual Upgrade discount of $50 off the promotional price, instead of the NE2 discount of $100.

[drjay868 @ Nov 11th 2008 2:49PM]

I have since graduated school and moved on, but I used to work for VZW. Upgrades work like this:

If you are at the end of your 2 year contract (or within 60 days of the end) and sign up for 2 more years
-- you get $100 of the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is $79.99 or higher
-- you get $50 off the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is between $34.99 and $79.99
If you are at the end of your 2 year contract and sign up for 1 more year OR are a new customer signing for 1 year
-- you get the 1 year promotional price of the phone
If you are at the end of your 1 year contract and sign up for 2 years OR are a new customer signing up for 2 years
-- you get the 2 year promotional price of the phone
If you are in the middle of any contract and want a new phone at discount
-- you must resign your contract for 2 years and you will be eligible for an "Early Upgrade" which is typically the 2 year promo price
If you are in a contract or out of contract (month to month) and do not resign a contract to buy the phone
-- you pay full retail price of the phone

I have not worked at VZW for 3 years now so there may be some minor changes to this (like the whole $100/$50 off depending on plan -- used to be $100 off on any plan over $34.99) but it be pretty close to their current system.

[drjay868 @ Nov 11th 2008 2:49PM]

I have since graduated school and moved on, but I used to work for VZW. Upgrades work like this:

If you are at the end of your 2 year contract (or within 60 days of the end) and sign up for 2 more years
-- you get $100 of the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is $79.99 or higher
-- you get $50 off the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is between $34.99 and $79.99
If you are at the end of your 2 year contract and sign up for 1 more year OR are a new customer signing for 1 year
-- you get the 1 year promotional price of the phone
If you are at the end of your 1 year contract and sign up for 2 years OR are a new customer signing up for 2 years
-- you get the 2 year promotional price of the phone
If you are in the middle of any contract and want a new phone at discount
-- you must resign your contract for 2 years and you will be eligible for an "Early Upgrade" which is typically the 2 year promo price
If you are in a contract or out of contract (month to month) and do not resign a contract to buy the phone
-- you pay full retail price of the phone

I have not worked at VZW for 3 years now so there may be some minor changes to this (like the whole $100/$50 off depending on plan -- used to be $100 off on any plan over $34.99) but it be pretty close to their current system.

[drjay868 @ Nov 11th 2008 2:47PM]

I have since graduated school and moved on, but I used to work for VZW. Upgrades work like this:

If you are at the end of your 2 year contract (or within 60 days of the end) and sign up for 2 more years
-- you get $100 of the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is $79.99 or higher
-- you get $50 off the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is between $34.99 and $79.99
If you are at the end of your 2 year contract and sign up for 1 more year OR are a new customer signing for 1 year
-- you get the 1 year promotional price of the phone
If you are at the end of your 1 year contract and sign up for 2 years OR are a new customer signing up for 2 years
-- you get the 2 year promotional price of the phone
If you are in the middle of any contract and want a new phone at discount
-- you must resign your contract for 2 years and you will be eligible for an "Early Upgrade" which is typically the 2 year promo price
If you are in a contract or out of contract (month to month) and do not resign a contract to buy the phone
-- you pay full retail price of the phone

I have not worked at VZW for 3 years now so there may be some minor changes to this (like the whole $100/$50 off depending on plan -- used to be $100 off on any plan over $34.99) but it be pretty close to their current system.

[Jay @ Nov 11th 2008 2:35PM]

I have since graduated school and moved on, but I used to work for VZW. Upgrades work like this:

If you are at the end of your 2 year contract (or within 60 days of the end) and sign up for 2 more years
-- you get $100 of the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is $79.99 or higher
-- you get $50 off the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is between $34.99 and $79.99
If you are at the end of your 2 year contract and sign up for 1 more year OR are a new customer signing for 1 year
-- you get the 1 year promotional price of the phone
If you are at the end of your 1 year contract and sign up for 2 years OR are a new customer signing up for 2 years
-- you get the 2 year promotional price of the phone
If you are in the middle of any contract and want a new phone at discount
-- you must resign your contract for 2 years and you will be eligible for an "Early Upgrade" which is typically the 2 year promo price
If you are in a contract or out of contract (month to month) and do not resign a contract to buy the phone
-- you pay full retail price of the phone

I have not worked at VZW for 3 years now so there may be some minor changes to this (like the whole $100/$50 off depending on plan -- used to be $100 off on any plan over $34.99) but it be pretty close to their current system

[Ian10101 @ Nov 11th 2008 9:24AM]

on verizons website nearly all their phones have some sort of online/mail in discount which is not shown on this site, so I think its going to be lower than 219$

[MFfan310 @ Nov 11th 2008 9:34AM]

VZW typically does a $70 mail-in rebate debit card for BlackBerries, so chances are that the Storm will cost $149 after a $70 rebate. Which will be a very competitive price.

[blair harrington @ Nov 11th 2008 10:25AM]

"No wifi, no way! Waaaaa, waaaa, waaaa!".

What a ridiculous argument, and it will continue as long as the storm is in the news and posted on tech sites. Here's your wifi reality check:

As an owner of a Nokia N810 tablet let me tell you that the availability of free wifi is not as common as you make it out to be. It depends entirely on the spots you frequent or find yourself in. If you spend time in hotels or coffee shops with free wifi, then you have a point to be upset about the storm's lack of wifi. But aside from that, it's a ridiculous statement to make. I bring my tablet around with me, and am constantly annoyed with my lack of free wifi connections to hook on to. I can't wait to have the storm on a reliable network like Verizon.

As for wifi being faster. That may be true, but the difference in speed isn't as big as people make it out to be. I've tested my tablet using wifi vs. a friends Iphone on 3G and it was almost identical. So spare us the Wifi gripes. It just feels like people are seeking a reason to bash this phone. A phone that I predict will be a huge game changer in the smartphone wars.

Lastly, having wifi "on" helps drain your battery life on your phone. Another bonus from omission.

[KA @ Nov 11th 2008 2:42PM]

Quotation marks are for quoting people. If it's not a quote, don't use quotation marks. It's quite simple, really.

[ijyt @ Nov 11th 2008 12:24PM]

Why is it taking so long to get prices in America? We've known the price in the UK for a while now.

[Zeus @ Nov 11th 2008 1:03PM]

I'd like to hear some personal reviews of this thing....

[Jay @ Nov 11th 2008 2:29PM]

I have since graduated school and moved on, but I used to work for VZW. Upgrades work like this:

If you are at the end of your 2 year contract (or within 60 days of the end) and sign up for 2 more years
-- you get $100 of the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is $79.99 or higher
-- you get $50 off the 2 year promotional price of the phone if your monthly plan is between $34.99 and $79.99
If you are at the end of your 2 year contract and sign up for 1 more year OR are a new customer signing for 1 year
-- you get the 1 year promotional price of the phone
If you are at the end of your 1 year contract and sign up for 2 years OR are a new customer signing up for 2 years
-- you get the 2 year promotional price of the phone
If you are in the middle of any contract and want a new phone at discount
-- you must resign your contract for 2 years and you will be eligible for an "Early Upgrade" which is typically the 2 year promo price
If you are in a contract or out of contract (month to month) and do not resign a contract to buy the phone
-- you pay full retail price of the phone

I have not worked at VZW for 3 years now so there may be some minor changes to this (like the whole $100/$50 off depending on plan -- used to be $100 off on any plan over $34.99) but it be pretty close to their current system.

[Jay @ Nov 11th 2008 2:36PM]

Sorry about the duplicate posting... maybe I should remember my password next time

[jammy @ Nov 11th 2008 5:04PM]

Woohoo! This phone is going to rock! --- oh wait, Verizon cripples their phones. No GPS for you!

[netgarou @ Nov 11th 2008 6:23PM]

I still want to know when Verizon is going to stop forcing smartphone customers to buy the data plan. Some of us just want the QWERTY keyboard, PIM apps, USB syncing, and 3rd party app support of a smartphone, without paying hundreds of dollars a year for internet access (which I get at work and home nearly 24/7 anyway).

[tomorryzc @ Nov 12th 2008 12:49AM]

It said that At Nov 6th, 2008, Best Buys around the colonies was start taking pre-orders for the BlackBerry Storm for a stiff $50 deposit?
Friend tell me, I can put DVD and downloaded video to blackberry, but I need Blackberry converter software such as http://www.convert-video-dvd.com/dvd-to-blackberry-suite.html#115 the same of the storm?

[lucy @ Nov 12th 2008 3:02AM]

my dad bought a blackberry for me
i bought a Nidesoft dvd to blackberry converter for my blackberry
i love my blackberry
i love my dvd to blackberry converter
http://www.nidesoft.com/dvd-to-blackberry-converter.html

[Rantmeister @ Nov 16th 2008 5:23PM]

I have been reading about the Storm all morning... I can't wait to get mine. That said, I have not heard one word about how Verizon is basically going to screw everyone of their present customers who either have a phone or Blackberry already with Verizon. I have been with them for at least ten or more years. Next week, when I go in to purchase my Storm... I am either going to have to pay a hefty price (about $175.00) to get out of my present contract, or pay full price for the Storm, so I can sign a new two year contract with Verizon... instead of just letting me switch my service. The only other option is adding a family line, (for an additional $30.00) add that to my account, switch my phone number to the Storm and carry two phones, Now with two phone bills for the duration of my original contract... which at this point is about nineteen more months. My experience with Verizon has always been that they don't really care about me and the fact that I spend my hard earned dollars with THEM. All they want is... more of your dollars. whether it's hitting you for another $30.00 for a car charger, or making you take their little package of junk they offer up to you...i.e.. the leather phone case, the holster... and usually another piece of junk, (for another $30.00) When I went into my local store last week... I was talking to the sales person... asking of course what was the least expensive way I could own this new Storm without breaking the bank. His advice to me was... to see if I had a friend who would able to put me on their account as "THEIR" family member. Damn! I said, why can't I just do that myself, on my own account... He said, oh yeah... I think you can do that. My two immediate requests from Verizon would be... TO PLEASE STOP SQUEEZING ME EVERYTIME I NEED YOU, AND CONSIDER HIRING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES!

[KALMANI @ Nov 17th 2008 7:05AM]

$199.99 not 219.99

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

[KALMANI @ Nov 17th 2008 7:05AM]

$199.99 not 219.99

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

http://estore.vzwshop.com/storm/

[jefflin @ Nov 21st 2008 4:02AM]

As i know, many people buy a new blackberry storm often depend on whether there are plentiful third part software to support blackberry, for many people got a blackberry storm not only for receive email or just watch wmv or mp4 movie. many people may want to watch youtube video on blackberry, or watch dvd on their blackberry.

I have search related answers on yahoo answers and google, find that some software can convert dvd or video to blackberry store. such as wondershare blackberry converter. ( i search blackberry storm converter find that software), i have try that, it support my blackberr 8100, and it claim support blackberry storm. below is where i found that:
http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/video-to-blackberry.html

[jafferson @ Nov 27th 2008 7:22AM]

also a dvd to blackberry storm converter, which can convert any dvd(include protectde dvd) to blackberry 9530, 9500.

http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/dvd-to-blackberry.html#116