T-Mo Says No Mo BlackBo in Sto (T-Mobile to Stop Stocking BlackBerry Phones)

You can still buy one in a store. You just can't walk out with one.

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BlackBerry is cutting jobs and losing money – not in that order, but the two events are definitely related. As part of its turnaround efforts, the company has decided to woo the market segment that’s still actively buying BlackBerry handsets — corporate customers – while taking its efforts to market to consumers out to pasture.

That doesn’t mean that if you, a consumer, want to buy a BlackBerry, you won’t be able to. It also doesn’t mean you’re not cool. Newsflash: You like keyboards! Tell the other slab-toting, Apple-loving, Google-worshipping, Microsoft-supporting jerks to go fly a kite with a hole in it, right?

But if you’re a T-Mobile customer, apparently your next BlackBerry purchase could involve going to the store, fondling a demo phone and then placing an order for later shipment. That’s the plan, according to what the T-Mo exec for corporate services, David Carey, told Reuters.

According to the Reuters piece, consumers aren’t walking into T-Mobile stores and asking for BlackBerry devices; most purchases are coming from businesses and don’t happen in-store. “Therefore we will display and sell it in the store for those consumers who would like to see one,” Carey told Reuters.

This move by T-Mobile seems like a no-brainer, given that BlackBerry is focusing on the corporate segment. It’ll be interesting to see whether other wireless providers follow suit (spoiler: probably), and how much the money saved by not marketing to consumers helps BlackBerry’s bottom line (spoiler: probably not much).

T-Mobile US will no longer stock BlackBerry in stores [Reuters]