[W Hoa]

This is a very lengthy article and is well worth the read. The article is very clear about RIM and its successes and its failures. It is very balanced and realistic.

An excerpt:

For shoppers in Lagos, though, the choice for a wireless device is an easy one.

“Every young teenager’s dream is to own a BlackBerry phone,” Mr. Kumbin says. “It’s very popular with students, businessmen. But more people are buying BlackBerry – more people come for it everyday.”

In countries such as Nigeria, far from the iPhone-toting masses of the developed world, BlackBerry remains king among smartphones.

The BlackBerry is not only the No. 1 smartphone in Nigeria, but it’s also tops in all of Africa, according to research firm Canalys. The story is much the same in Mexico, Indonesia and many of the world’s other booming emerging markets, where RIM leads nascent smartphone sectors with as much as a 60-per-cent market share.

Africa: Where RIM still steals the show - The Globe and Mail

[notfanboy]

This excerpt made me chuckle and feel a bit sad at the same time :

The most visible display is a film franchise called BlackBerry Babes . Produced by Nigeria’s prolific “Nollywood” film industry, it is based entirely around women wooing men into buying them BlackBerrys. In a typical scene, a woman pushes back a man who keeps trying to kiss her. “I’ve been begging you to buy me an ordinary BlackBerry, and you’re not saying anything,” she says, lying on a teal-coloured bed. The man, exasperated, asks how much this is going to cost him. “Depends on the model,” she replies coolly. “I want the highest one.”

[bungaboy]

This excerpt made me chuckle and feel a bit sad at the same time :

The most visible display is a film franchise called BlackBerry Babes . Produced by Nigeria’s prolific “Nollywood” film industry, it is based entirely around women wooing men into buying them BlackBerrys. In a typical scene, a woman pushes back a man who keeps trying to kiss her. “I’ve been begging you to buy me an ordinary BlackBerry, and you’re not saying anything,” she says, lying on a teal-coloured bed. The man, exasperated, asks how much this is going to cost him. “Depends on the model,” she replies coolly. “I want the highest one.”

You somehow left out the sentence immediately before that quote.

Even if the country is challenging, RIM executives love Nigeria, where there’s an almost absurd enthusiasm for BlackBerry.

[notfanboy]

You somehow left out the sentence immediately before that quote.

LOL what are you implying?

I did not "somehow" leave that sentence out. I purposely omitted it, as well as the other parts of the article, because it wasn't the part that made me chuckle and a little sad.

[texazzpete]

You know why Blackberries are selling in Africa?

BBM.

That's why I feel so Incredulous when I see an editorial on Crackberry saying that licensing out BBM will be a boon for RIM. Put BBM on iPhone and Android and see that growth rate decline sharply.

[bungaboy]

You know why Blackberries are selling in Africa?

BBM.

That's why I feel so Incredulous when I see an editorial on Crackberry saying that licensing out BBM will be a boon for RIM. Put BBM on iPhone and Android and see that growth rate decline sharply.

You work in retail store selling phones?

[aragone79]

You know why Blackberries are selling in Africa?

BBM.

That's why I feel so Incredulous when I see an editorial on Crackberry saying that licensing out BBM will be a boon for RIM. Put BBM on iPhone and Android and see that growth rate decline sharply.

Mostly, It is true. But when they have Blackberry on their hands, they want more. Not only BBM, but also social media. And the last, email. Yes, they can all have those features in android and iPhone. But for the 3rd world country, where the internet connection speed is still limited, Blackberry gives solution for it. 1 bar signal of GPRS will be sufficient to run Blackberry.

What about Android and iPhone, Those are freeze all the time. Believe me, I know that and I have experiences with this situation.

[texazzpete]

You work in retail store selling phones?

Nope. Lol. That's not for me.

I live there...initially blackberries were these hyper-expensive tools that only the business folks were buying. Nokia phones were the ultimate smartphones then. We probably had one of the highest BIS monthly charges in the world. Blackberry browsers weren't very good and consumers didn't care much.

Then things changed. newer models came out in 2009 with sleeker looks and better browsers. BIS plans were halved due to competition. People started using BBs more but they still were clinging to Nokia et al.

Then BBM happened. Similar story to the craze in Indonesia. It's become the de-facto standard for communication. People usually have upwards of 100 contacts on their BBM...and belong to groups. The Social Media craze (Facebook, Twitter) also played their part because BIS plans were much cheaper than expensive data plans (in Nigeria, 99% of phones are bought off contract, paid for 100% so you don't really see the usual bundled in data plans you'd find in the US, for example).
For many people, why pay double the cost for BIS for a 2GB data plan when BIS on MTN Nigeria gives unlimited downloads?

So there are loads of reasons why BBs are wildly popular in Nigeria, but by far the biggest driver of sales (and the biggest reason for peer pressure to get one) is BBM.

There are already dual core Android phones on sale in China for $150...and these have started trickling into the African market slowly. Put BBM on these and cash strapped buyers may be swayed to the dark side.