8525 Price Drop

..Must...Not...Refer...to...Jesus...Phone.....Sigh, have to do it.

Here's the deal - a $150 price drop on the powerhouse AT&T 8525 (someday it will even get that promised WM6 upgrade) would and should be news on its own. But Infoworld is pretty sure that the price drop is iPhone-release-related. As in - the 8525 is cheaper, easier to type on, and better for actual business use than the iPhone. Or maybe as in - "Oh, we're out of iPhones, but check out this smartphone, the 8525. It has a full keyboard." The latter thought doesn't make me proud, but it's certainly possible.

Or maybe the price drop has nothing to do at all with the iPhone release. Maybe, just maybe, AT&T is clearing inventory to make way for the HTC Kaiser. That thought does make me proud - proud to be an HTC fanboy.

AT&T has not set an end date for the 8525's $299 promotional pricing, but it will end.

The 8525's killer feature will be its Windows Mobile 6 upgrade, which AT&T promises for the third quarter of this year. Expect it to be downloadable, but not necessarily free.

Read: Enterprise Mac | InfoWorld | AT&T positions new 8525 Pocket PC, promo price $299, as key iPhone alternative | June 26, 2007 10:14 PM | By Tom Yager