Verizon, RIM Run 2-for-1 BlackBerry Sale

Is it a sign of our current economic times or are our friends north of the border beginning to smell blood in the water?

Very quietly and without much fanfare, Research In Motion(RIMM) and Verizon Wireless (a joint venture of Verizon(VZ) and Vodafone(VOD)) have teamed up for a full-out attack on every other smartphone on the market.

Verizon and RIM are running a BOGO sale: BOGO stands for "Buy One Get One" free. I'm not kidding! Verizon is offering all current BlackBerrys in a two-for-one sale. "All" means just that. Verizon currently offers eight BlackBerrys for sale on its Web site and all eight are eligible for the BOGO deal -- including the brand new, super-hot BlackBerry Storm 9530 touch-screen handset.

All Verizon asks in return is that both of those newly purchased BlackBerrys are activated with separate, two-year service contract. That's it! That's all you have to do to participate in this super offer.

This would appear to be a win-win deal for nearly everyone involved. RIM gets to move more phones -- Verizon gets two contracts signed -- and consumers get a great deal. Actually, RIM might even be losing a little on the deal (although I don't know if they get a piece of Verizon's monthly action) . This would not be a first in the cell-phone industry.

For instance, Apple(AAPL) lowered the price of itsiPhone when the second version was released and they seem to be doing OK. AT&T (T) hedged its bets by raising the monthly service charges for the iPhone 2 to make up for the loss of its piece of the phone's selling price.