Blackberry Tops One Million Mark In Nigeria – Developing Nations Could Save The Brand

The developing world could be the life support that Blackberry needs as it works to curtail an immediate collapse. According to BusinessDay investigations, Blackbeery is hitting good numbers in Nigeria.

The BlackBerry smart phone functions as a personal digital assistant and portable media player. It is primarily known for its’ ability to send and receive (push) Internet e-mail wherever mobile network service coverage is present, or through Wi-Fi connectivity. They support a large array of instant messaging features, including BlackBerry Messenger. BlackBerry commands a 14.8 percent share of worldwide smart phone sales, making it the fifth most popular device manufacturer after Nokia, Samsung, LG, and Apple. .

The number of BlackBerry smart phones in use in Nigeria has exceeded the one million mark, Business Day investigations have revealed. Estimates gathered from sources close to Nigeria’s four GSM networks indicate that there are now about 1.2 million BlackBerry handsets active inside of the said networks put together.

 

 

Unfortunately, the revenue from Africa and other developing world may not amount much. So, irrespective of the 1.2 million active smartphones in Nigeria, the company has to do more and change its business model as iPhone continues the assault. To survive they need to do well in US, irrespective of the success in the developing world which is coming because of price cuts.

Also, there is an uncertainty on how many of these devices are from BB as Nigeria is full of grey phones and mobile devices. If they do not solve that problem, the statistics of 1.2 million units may not amount to much. They have to work with the law enforcements to reduce or eliminate these fake BB units. The whole business of corporate messaging as explained in the BusinesDay article is a growth area and if they can get the right hardware, a new dawn could be waiting for them.