Blackberrys cheaper by 26% as RIM India cuts prices

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) slashed prices of its major models in India by up to 26 per cent, in an effort to increase the adoption of its smartphones in the world’s second-biggest mobile phone market.

The Canadian company cut the price of its entry-level model, Curve 8520, by 18 per cent to Rs 8,999, from Rs 10,990, and that of Torch 9860 by 26 per cent to Rs 21,990, from Rs 29,990. Prices of the Curve 9380 and the Curve 9360 were also reduced to Rs 16,990 and Rs 18,990, from Rs 20,990 and Rs 19,990, respectively.

“RIM as a brand has moved from just an enterprise device to as a more consumer device. Be it our services or the product, we have seen a strong uptake by the youth and, therefore, to get the devices into more hands, we are cutting the prices… These four handsets comprise a bulk of sales in the country, it is 60 per cent of the business from India,” RIM India managing director Sunil Dutt was quoted as saying by a news agency.

“Consumers in India are finding BlackBerry as an overall solution. They like our devices and solutions, especially youngsters who love the BlackBerry messenger service. There is a lot of consumer demand and pull for BlackBerry. On the enterprise side, engagement with enterprises and carriers continues to be as strong,” Dutt had said in a recent interview to Business Standard.

SMART PRICING Prices of some popular BlackBerry models slashed
Model	Old price	New price
Curve 8520	10,990	8,999
Torch 9860	29,990	21,990
Curve 9380	20,990	16,990
Curve 9360	19,990	18,990
Figures in Rs

At present, the enterprise business contributes more to RIM India’s revenues than the consumer segment. “Going forward, we’ll give 50-50 focus to both segments – consumer and enterprise,” he had said.

According to a study by CyberMedia, smartphone shipments touched 11.2 million units in the 2011 calendar year, an annual growth of 87 per cent. Nokia was the leader in the smartphone segment, with a 38 per cent share, followed by Samsung (28 per cent) and RIM (15 per cent).