BlackBerry to launch models for less than ₹15,000

Research In Motion, famous for its premium corporate status symbol BlackBerry handsets, is climbing a notch down in prices as it gets to launch models at less than ₹15,000, well below the entry-point of above ₹20,000 it has been known for. Shrenik Avlani and Tejeesh NS Behl report.

Research In Motion, famous for its premium corporate status symbol BlackBerry handsets, is climbing a notch down in prices as it gets to launch models at less than ₹15,000, well below the entry-point of above ₹20,000 it has been known for.

'You will see our new device in the next few weeks,' Sunil Dutt, MD, RIM India, told HT in his first media interaction since taking charge in December. 'And, yes you will see a new handset priced under ₹15,000 this year.'

Close to 30% of BlackBerry users are general consumers while remaining 70% are enterprise customers.

RIM's current price point for its latest range of BlackBerry devices in India is ₹20,000 for its Curve model 9360 and 9380.

The company was also working out new deals with telecom operators to win back young users who have switched to other smart devices, said Dutt. RIM's marketshare in the smart phones category in India is estimated at 12.7%, behind market leader Samsung at 39.7% and Nokia at 34.7%, according to Cybermedia Research.

BlackBerry recently launched aggressive marketing campaigns to woo back Young India from cheaper Android devices such as Samsung, Sony Ericson, LG, Motorola and Micromax.

The company that came in for a lot of flak in the corporate circles after its services were disrupted for three days last year, is counting on leveraging its strengths and history of working in enterprise mobile solutions to regain lost ground. 'We are working on improving the ecosystem so as to provide better applications and solutions to our enterprise customers,' said Dutt.

The company said that it has reached an understanding with the government on the issue.

'Our teams have spent a lot of time with government officials and addressed in detail all their doubts and queries,' said Dutt. 'We have managed to convince the government that it is not an issue with RIM only, but an issue with the entire industry.'