WSJ Article: Why BlackBerry is a Hit in Indonesia

Nice good news in the shadow of the Whatsapp debacle. BBM rules in Indonesia. I believe the WhatsApp move is a political pot shot at BlackBerry because of their competing messaging platforms. There is at least 20-30 million active BlackBerry users out there this market still counts for something. This is an undermining shot at BlackBerry.

Why BlackBerry Is a Hit in Indonesia - Digits - WSJ

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BlackBerry does not need any political pot shot at it, BlackBerry is competent enough to inflict pain to itself most of the time. No, BlackBerry is no longer a hit in Indonesia. It used to be that way 5-10 years ago though. Indonesians use whatever fancy them now, I have friends who use WhatsApp, some like Line, some on Viber, some on WeChat, some on Facebook Messenger and then a few on BBM.

Still, BlackBerry remains confident that it can still uphold its top position in Indonesia, the only market in the world where the app is still winning over other messaging apps.

BBM works in Indonesia due to the issues with their networks. One guy explained that there is very little overlap between carriers, and that roaming is extremely expensive. Most people have SIM for each carrier, many own two, three or four phones depending on how many different carrier cover the areas they travel to - even in one city. Messaging is just really the only way to communicate there.

The issue is that market profitable for BBM and BlackBerry? Is it growing, or are they losing their dominance. The same guy that was from there explained that he was having to use other Messaging apps to keep in contact with many that had left BBM. Line was what he was using the most... and most everyone he knew was the same, they used multiple messaging apps.

Originally Posted by Dunt Dunt Dunt

BBM works in Indonesia due to the issues with their networks. One guy explained that there is very little overlap between carriers, and that roaming is extremely expensive. Most people have SIM for each carrier, many own two, three or four phones depending on how many different carrier cover the areas they travel to - even in one city. Messaging is just really the only way to communicate there.

The issue is that market profitable for BBM and BlackBerry? Is it growing, or are they losing their dominance. The same guy that was from there explained that he was having to use other Messaging apps to keep in contact with many that had left BBM. Line was what he was using the most... and most everyone he knew was the same, they used multiple messaging apps.

That is correct regarding roaming in Indonesia. Calling and texting between people on different carriers, say, Telkomsel and Indosat can get expensive real quick due to roaming rates being applied. That's primarily the reason why many Indonesians carry multiple handsets, very unlike people in the states who most likely carry only one handset, or at most 2, one for work and one personal. It's a highly segmented market with Telkomsel being the dominant carrier followed by XL, Indosat, and others. BBM used to cure all of these problems back in the days, but now there are many alternatives to BBM that also do the same thing and with advantages on top of what BBM already does.

Indonesians mostly carry Samsung and iPhone as high-end devices and low-end Android Chinese made handsets. Few jumped on to BB10 bandwagon and the few still using BB are carrying legacy BBOS devices. It's the same complains all over just like in the states, Indonesians love apps too and they gravitate to the handsets that can offer the most apps.

Originally Posted by ljfong

That is correct regarding roaming in Indonesia. Calling and texting between people on different carriers, say, Telkomsel and Indosat can get expensive real quick due to roaming rates being applied. That's primarily the reason why many Indonesians carry multiple handsets, very unlike people in the states who most likely carry only one handset, or at most 2, one for work and one personal. It's a highly segmented market with Telkomsel being the dominant carrier followed by XL, Indosat, and others. BBM used to cure all of these problems back in the days, but now there are many alternatives to BBM that also do the same thing and with advantages on top of what BBM already does.

Indonesians mostly carry Samsung and iPhone as high-end devices and low-end Android Chinese made handsets. Few jumped on to BB10 bandwagon and the few still using BB are carrying legacy BBOS devices. It's the same complains all over just like in the states, Indonesians love apps too and they gravitate to the handsets that can offer the most apps.

Are there still any BlackBerry shops in Indonesia? I know at their peak there were hundreds of small vendors plus the corporate stores.
Did anyone buy the Z3 jakarta and still use it?

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Originally Posted by AWDragon200

Are there still any BlackBerry shops in Indonesia? I know at their peak there were hundreds of small vendors plus the corporate stores.
Did anyone buy the Z3 jakarta and still use it?

Posted via CB10

Nope, not as far as I could tell. There used to be a few but probably went out of business or re-purposed as general handset store.

I had not seen a single BB10 handset when I visited 3 months ago. I saw a few legacy BBOS handsets though. Lots of Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and iPhone 6 (6S was not released yet). For some reason, Indonesians get iPhones later than everyone else, so most of them imported the 6S or bought them from Singapore or Malaysia.