RIM retains cool in India after global shake-up

With two high-profile executives exiting Research in Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry, it might look like the Canada-based smartphone vendor is in trouble. But its problems won't manifest in India, say experts.

The Indian market, in the first 11 months of 2011, saw smartphone shipments cross the 10-million mark for the first time, accounting for six per cent of the 166 million shipments.

RIM's ability, say experts, to survive in a market full of Nokia and Samsung products will depend on its capacity to turn around consumers' perception of the brand. Also, it must retain corporate clients.

Two years before, the company re-branded its product from a phone for executives to that for youngsters. It is also targeting low-usage customers, with packages for pre-paid customers (comprising a little more than 80 per cent of the telecom market in India).

RIM and its operator partners have renewed efforts to bring younger users to the BlackBerry fold. Recently, leading telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone launched offers with unlimited access to BlackBerry Messenger (a free text messaging platform) for as low as Rs 129 a month.

The plans are bundled with SMSes and targeted at youngsters who communicate a lot. State-owned MTNL, too, started BlackBerry services this month with Rs 150 a month trial packs.

Click here for Rediff Realtime News!