RIM Enters China With the BlackBerry Storm and BES

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by
Kyle McInnes
on May 18, 2010, at 9:57 AM
in News
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Comments: 3 responses
3 Comments

A while back we heard that RIM would be entering the Chinese market but in a strange move, RIM has decided to launch with BES and the BlackBerry Storm. China is a pretty crucial market considering its size, and you would think RIM would want to launch with an affordable and reliable device such as the Curve 8520, but instead they’ve gone with a device with one of the worst brand reputations in RIM’s hardware history. Forget about what you think of the Storm (some love, some hate), it’s still a curious decision.

If I had to guess, it probably has something to do with beating Apple in the Chinese touchscreen market. There is probably a lot of market research that says Chinese consumers are looking for more touchscreen smartphones, and RIM has decided they’ll be the ones to serve the demand. Personally, I think this is going to result in a lot of dissatisfied users, and if you’re going to pioneer a new market, why not choose a device such as the Bold and Curve, which carries a solid brand and reputation.

Read the press release from RIM.

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  • DavidB

    I'm betting its far easier (via software only) to do Chinese character keyboard on a touch screen only device like the Storm than it would be on device with a physical keyboard. Full QWERTY is a nightmare on any pictographic language like Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc. and a touch only device like Storm lets RIM enter the market without having to do up special hardware.

  • ljp

    It does seem a little odd but I wonder if there's some resistance from the government for BIS services since communication is encrypted over BBM. I know India had raised the issue last year about wanting the ability to monitor communication.

  • Canadian Wireless Hater

    Do you have any idea what you're talking about? Ever heard of Pinyin, Bopomofo, or Wubi Hua?

    RIM has had Chinese input support for ages. In fact, one of the biggest advantages RIM has is the QWERTY keyboards make typing Chinese EASIER then all the T9 devices out there. And enterprising people have been using BBs in China, Japan and Korea for as long as the devices have had the support. No special hardware needed.

    Yeah there's stroke input, but when you walk into a net bar in mainland China, do you see people using trackpads to input their messages into QQ or keyboards? I know I know, you've never been to one. But you better believe it's the latter.

    And wooohooo China Telecom. RIM has their heads stuck so far up their asses in China it's frightening. Consumers still can't get BBs officially, and the 4G iPhone is coming soon. It's the world's largest market. RIM WAKE UP.