Comments on: India to be Berryfied

By: High turnover in emerging wireless markets | BlackBerry Cool

High turnover in emerging wireless markets | BlackBerry Cool — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:40:11 +0000

[...] mobiles these days, the market may not be as much of a wireless promised land as they had been made out to be. Strategy Analytics has reported today that the global subscriber churn rate has risen for the ninth [...]

By: BlackBerry Cool » Mobile web usage on the up

BlackBerry Cool » Mobile web usage on the up — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:56:06 +0000

[...] Not that India needs any more wireless news, but apparently 9% of all mobile page views come from India, and is rising at a rate set to overtake Europe’s in a couple of years. The report highlights flat data rates as a big push factor for mobile web browsing, and forecasts a drop in flat data rates in the US in order to remain competitive, not that we’d ever suggest that there’s something wrong Canadian rates. [...]

By: BlackBerry Cool » Manpower is RIM’s recent hurdle in India

BlackBerry Cool » Manpower is RIM’s recent hurdle in India — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:29:16 +0000

[...] Despite, or maybe even because of, Nokia’s recent focus on India, RIM is reiterating its interest in the country. A recent interview with VP Norm Lo tells us RIM’s doing little more than upscaled hiring in India. For the bulk of the interview, he talks about the burgeoning corporate demand for BlackBerry services, the adoptability of technology in India, and even takes the iPhone stance in relation to established competitors in the mobile market, that “RIM welcomes competition. The more the users are informed about the benefits of mobile email, the more popular it will get, which is good for us as the market leader”. That’s super, Norm, but how’s that Reliance thing coming along? It’s all well and good that you guys are prepping, planning and soothsaying, but let’s get this panchayata started. [...]

By: BlackBerryCool » Nokia - Qualcomm fight slows down 3G progress

BlackBerryCool » Nokia - Qualcomm fight slows down 3G progress — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:26:57 +0000

[...] That’s an especially interesting statement considering their movement in India. If Nokia is setting budget products and 3G as mutually exclusive, then it looks like India’s going to be stuck with second-rate (but accessible) service for some time, that is, unless, someone can step in to fill that higher-end niche. [...]

By: BlackBerryCool » Nokia launching low-cost GSM network in India

BlackBerryCool » Nokia launching low-cost GSM network in India — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:53:08 +0000

[...] Pair this off with Nokia’s extensive low-lend line of devices, and it’s looking like RIM’s meager push into India won’t get too far. [...]

By: BlackBerryCool » Vodafone sucks less

BlackBerryCool » Vodafone sucks less — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:03:46 +0000

[...] Itâ€™s not exactly the same as doing well, but itâ€™s a start. European carrier Vodafone cut their net losses attributed to equity shareholders today to Â£5.43 billion, versus last yearâ€™s Â£21.92 billion during the same time last year. Theyâ€™re claiming the cuts are attributable to growth in Turkey and Africa, further emphasizing the importance of emerging markets. Vodafoneâ€™s total revenues are up 6% to Â£31.1 billion, and predict Â£33.3 to Â£34.1 billion for the next year. One of the bigger draws to Vodafone stock has been their dividends, which are up to 6.76p. “There are few stocks in the FTSE 100 (apart from BT) which offer such attractive dividend growth coupled with a high yield,” [Seymour Pierce analyst Jim McCafferty] said, maintaining an outperform rating on the stock. [...]

By: BlackBerryCool » Weekly Contest: Blacklash

BlackBerryCool » Weekly Contest: Blacklash — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:56:02 +0000

[...] Between interrupting sermons, driving and legislature, BlackBerry seems to be getting a lot of bad rap lately. Given, much of this has to do with radio interference known as GSM mosquito (not to be confused with the teenager repellent, which is a helluva lot handier), there’s also a case to ban them from schools, to avoid distraction, cheating and clandestine recording. As BlackBerry pushes into new markets, it will also have some cultural boundaries to consolidate as well. There’s clearly a lot of backlash against BlackBerrys (blacklash, if you will), and mobile technology in general. While it may just take time to develop solutions to the buzz, there are plenty of other wider-spanning issues that aren’t so easily fixed. So the question turns to you, BBCool devout: how will RIM reposition itself in order to overcome these simple usability issues? Does it even need to? Is it our responsibility to adapt lifestyles to the BlackBerry, or should BlackBerry be adapting to us? [...]