PERHAPS I SOUNDED the death knell for BlackBerry a little too soon. About 18 months ago I said there was little to differentiate BlackBerry smartphones from the myriad of others coming on to the market. The product launched in South Africa nearly three years ago was already looking tired, with seemingly little impetus to drive it beyond being a marginal offering for businessmen in that market. <\/p>\n
Sure, it's no longer the only answer to email. But it seems South Africans could be seeing a few more BlackBerry smartphones out and about in the hands of mobile workers and consumers alike. With a number of new device launches and a revitalised branding effort under its belt, BlackBerry has recently undertaken a renewed push into the consumer market, adding to its previously exclusive focus on business. And its recent first – incorporating social networking tool Facebook into new BlackBerry models – should appeal to SA's ever growing base of Facebook-obsessed individuals. <\/p>\n
Deon Liebenberg – director for commercial relationships at Research In Motion (RIM), the company that owns the BlackBerry brand in SA – says though it doesn't break down the number of subscribers in SA, 32% of its business comes from outside North America, and the contribution from the rest of the world is expanding rapidly. <\/p>\n
Liebenberg attributes that growth to a mix of things. He says although BlackBerry's smartphones offer similar applications to others, it's the way in which it has managed to integrate and simplify those that sets it apart. Liebenberg says the device is one element of its "total wireless solution" in place to help people – consumers and business people – manage their information seamlessly while on the move. <\/p>\n
He says BlackBerry is significantly expanding its offering beyond being an email-led tool. "We invented this market… now we're just adding to it." The BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry Curve 8310 smartphones also have GPS capabilities. <\/p>\n
Last year, of the 80m smartphones shipped worldwide (according to an IDC study reported in Business Week earlier this year) Nokia had the lion's share, with 48% of the market, or 38m devices. RIM came in second, with 6m phones (a 7,5% share), while Motorola was third (4,9m devices). <\/p>\n
The way that RIM takes BlackBerry to market in SA has also changed significantly, Liebenberg says, with added focus on selling through a broader retail network and working more closely with its SA partners, Vodacom and MTN. And one of its most appealing propositions in the SA market is that subscribers can use the device endlessly for a fixed fee of as low as R69\/month (with Vodacom), with up to 10 email accounts, Liebenberg says.<\/p>\n