The brand new BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM) goes on sale in the United States via AT&T tomorrow for $199.99 with a new, two-year service contract. But even if you’re one of the lucky folks who’ll get their thumbs on RIM’s latest BlackBerry on release day, you may be waiting a while to personalize, protect and/or accessorize your new gadget.
That’s because the BlackBerry Torch does not ship with any sort of holster, case or skin, as pointed out in my recent piece “10 Things You Didn’t Know About RIM’s New BlackBerry Torch 9800.”
And right now, you’d be hard put to find any retailer—online or brick and mortar—with a decent selection of Torch cases and/or accessories. I checked all the usual suspects: Amazon.com; the CrackBerry store; and RIM’s own online shop, ShopBlackBerry.com. But not one has even a single Torch case listed for sale.
You can bet AT&T will have a limited selection of cases in-store on launch day—AG Findings assures me it will have Torch cases in AT&T stores tomorrow. But if you’re anything like me, and you value variety, you won’t want to dole out cash for the first case you see.
Last week, I attended RIM and AT&T’s Torch 9800 launch event in New York City, and I snapped the following images of as-of-yet unreleased BlackBerry cases and add-ons from some well-known accessory makers, including OtterBox and Case-Mate.
Check out the following images for a look at OtterBox’s Commuter case for the BlackBerry Torch 9800; a Case-Mate “Barely There” case; RIM’s upcoming Torch Sync Pod, which will both charge and synchronize data between a Torch and a PC; and finally, RIM’s own “leather-textured” vertical holster—which probably should have come along with the device.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pricing or release details for any of the cases or accessories, but all are expected to become available within the coming weeks.
AS
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Author: asacco, Managing Editor
Al Sacco was a journalist, blogger and editor who covers the fast-paced mobile beat for CIO.com and IDG Enterprise, with a focus on wearable tech, smartphones and tablet PCs. Al managed CIO.com writers and contributors, covered news, and shared insightful expert analysis of key industry happenings. He also wrote a wide variety of tutorials and how-tos to help readers get the most out of their gadgets, and regularly offered up recommendations on software for a number of mobile platforms. Al resides in Boston and is a passionate reader, traveler, beer lover, film buff and Red Sox fan.
