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Dropped signal: Which way now for BlackBerry?
BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsnoj@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
THE once mighty BlackBerry has suffered a rapid and disastrous fall from grace in North America, culminating with the resignation this week of co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
But can their replacement, Thorsten Heins, restore Research in Motion (RIM) to its commanding position in the smartphone market? And what about the product's viability in Jamaica?
With disbelief swirling around the company's bad fortunes up north, local experts have mixed views on whether the Canadian maker of BlackBerry will keep its stranglehold on the Jamaican smartphone market for much longer.
Dane Spencer, managing director of SMS - Smart Mobile Solutions, suggested that given its perceived technological shortcomings compared to other smartphones, the BlackBerry could easily see a reversal of fortunes in Jamaica if, for example, dominant mobile phone player Digicel began to distribute the iPhone and subsidise its cost.
“The truth is that devices tend to be carrier-driven in Jamaica,” Spencer said.
“The reality is that if tomorrow morning, Digicel gets up and says 'the iPhone is where it's at' and begins to entice users with a limited data plan and a fleet of applications that are pretty much localised and useful for the average consumer, you could easily see a shift,” Spencer said, adding that “Apple marketing worldwide is very good as well”.
Spencer said however that he believes RIM will work hard to protect its Latin America and Caribbean market, which he said is highly regarded by the Canadian firm.
RIM was worth more than US$70 billion a few years ago but now has a market value of around US$8.2 billion.
RIM's share of the US smartphone market dropped from 44 per cent in 2009 to 10 per cent in 2011, according to market researcher NPD Group.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...or-BlackBerry-
BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsnoj@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
THE once mighty BlackBerry has suffered a rapid and disastrous fall from grace in North America, culminating with the resignation this week of co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
But can their replacement, Thorsten Heins, restore Research in Motion (RIM) to its commanding position in the smartphone market? And what about the product's viability in Jamaica?
With disbelief swirling around the company's bad fortunes up north, local experts have mixed views on whether the Canadian maker of BlackBerry will keep its stranglehold on the Jamaican smartphone market for much longer.
Dane Spencer, managing director of SMS - Smart Mobile Solutions, suggested that given its perceived technological shortcomings compared to other smartphones, the BlackBerry could easily see a reversal of fortunes in Jamaica if, for example, dominant mobile phone player Digicel began to distribute the iPhone and subsidise its cost.
“The truth is that devices tend to be carrier-driven in Jamaica,” Spencer said.
“The reality is that if tomorrow morning, Digicel gets up and says 'the iPhone is where it's at' and begins to entice users with a limited data plan and a fleet of applications that are pretty much localised and useful for the average consumer, you could easily see a shift,” Spencer said, adding that “Apple marketing worldwide is very good as well”.
Spencer said however that he believes RIM will work hard to protect its Latin America and Caribbean market, which he said is highly regarded by the Canadian firm.
RIM was worth more than US$70 billion a few years ago but now has a market value of around US$8.2 billion.
RIM's share of the US smartphone market dropped from 44 per cent in 2009 to 10 per cent in 2011, according to market researcher NPD Group.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...or-BlackBerry-
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