RIM slashes BlackBerry smartphone prices by 26 per cent
In a move to boost sales or rather maintain its market share, RIM has slashed prices of its smartphones. The entry level BlackBerry Curve 8520 now costs Rs. 8,999 instead of Rs. 10,990 where as the Curve 9380 and the Curve 9360 have seen a price fall from Rs. 20,990 and Rs. 19,990 to Rs. 18,990 and Rs. 16,990 respectively. The price of the BlackBerry Torch, RIM’s flagship touchscreen smartphone, has fallen from Rs. 29,990 to Rs. 21,990.
RIM India managing director Sunil Dutt said, “These four handsets comprise a bulk of sales in the country, it is 60 per cent of the business from India. The focus is not just on reducing prices, but we want to address a larger number of people and give them the overall experience of BlackBerry. We will continue to focus on bringing locally relevant products, services and applications to Indian consumers.”
In the world of tech, slashing the prices of products means that new iterations are underway. But the scenario here might be a little different. With Apple’s iPhone and the plethora of Android powered devices available, BlackBerry is facing stiff competition. Analysts expect that RIM has missed out on its annual target and wants to see some rise in its smartphone sale before they announce their next quarter earnings.
In 2011, smartphone shipment in India reached a whopping 11.2 million showing an 87 percent year on year growth in the mobile segment. Leading the pack was Nokia with 38 percent share closely followed by Samsung, who captured 28 percent market share.
In a move to take on the tablet market, RIM recently dropped prices of its PlayBook tablet PC. The 64GB variant of the device will now cost you a mere Rs. 19,990.
Also read,
- RIM cuts 64GB BlackBerry PlayBook price to Rs. 19,990
- BlackBerry Curve 9320 spotted, featuring BBM button and BBOS 7.1
- RIM releases BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 update