The voice of the BlackBerry community.
It seems RIM is positioning the BlackBerry 8520 as the global BlackBerry and are marketing it to countries all around the world. Its low price point makes it an ideal candidate for regions such as Europe, where phones are often free and customers are very sensitive to price.
The device has launched in Venezuela via Movistar, Malaysia, France via Boygues Telecom, Belgium and the Netherlands
Do you want the 8520 in your country? Sound off!
Malaysia’s leading operator also lowers the BlackBerry service package price
Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s leading mobile operator, Maxis Communications Berhad, and Research In Motion today announced the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone in the country. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to feature the popular “clamshell” or “flip” design. It builds on the success of the original BlackBerry Pearl series and offers phone enthusiasts a new fun and stylish choice.
Matthew Willsher, Maxis Chief Marketing Officer said, “Today, we are extremely excited to bring our customers the next level of mobile communications with the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, a great-looking phone and so much more. It has a design that people are comfortable with and will enjoy using for voice calls, multimedia applications, text and email messaging and Internet browsing. This innovative phone is the ideal choice for first time BlackBerry smartphone users, and we hope it will encourage our retail customers to enjoy the freedom of accessing their emails, communications and multimedia needs on the go.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone is available at all 29 Maxis Centres nationwide at RM1,199, if purchased with a Value 150 postpaid plan and a BlackBerry service package that comes with a 24-month contract. Without a contract, it retails at RM1,999. For more information, visit www.maxis.com.my.
Continue reading ‘Maxis to Launch the BlackBerry Pearl Flip in Malaysia’
Sorry Americans, I know this stuff just makes you rip out even more clumps of hair, but the world must know that Indosat, Celcom, Bouygues, and TELE2TANGO all plan on packing the BlackBerry 9000. It might actually be a bit of a relief, as many won’t have the Bold available until mid- to late- September, which is the rumoured AT&T release date. You won’t be alone guys, just hang in there. Here are the details…
(via RIM)
Joining the growing number of countries that will receive the smartphone before RIM’s largest market, Maxis announced the release of the BlackBerry Bold in Malaysia yesterday. It now seems like every country other than the United States has the BlackBerry Bold — maybe they missed some sort of giveaway at the recent Olympic Games in China.
While Maxis doesn’t have firm pricing details on their website, expect it to be upwards of RM2,000 (they are currently offering the BlackBerry 8820 for RM2,500 and the BlackBerry 8310 for RM2,000).
Click here to read the ultimate BlackBerry Bold Review (with full device specs)
(via RIM)
Maxis announced yesterday their release of the BlackBerry 8300 in Malaysia, while making their intention of closing the enterprise-consumer gap loud and clear. Right now, Malaysia has a 70/30 split in terms of business and personal BlackBerry sales, but they hope the Curve will help change that.
“As BlackBerry usage in Malaysia continues to climb, we are making the powerful device accessible and affordable to people with an entry-level package for the BlackBerry Internet Solution at RM20 per month,” [Chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah] said at the launch of the smartphone Monday. … “We believe the consumer potential for e-mail services is largely untapped and this package is designed specifically for the consumer looking for wireless e-mail connectivity,“ he added.
We were just talking yesterday about how integral e-mail was to the enterprise customer, but how vital is it to consumers? If e-mail wasn’t a part of your job, would you still check it every day, let alone constantly through a handheld? Retail cost for Maxis’ BlackBerry 8300 is RM1,999, or $US 570.
Maxis press release behind the jump.
While we might be looking to emerging markets in China, India and Africa as the reason why so many people are packing 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 quarter in a row to 2.5% in Q1 2007. North America and Europe are pretty stable on this front, but Reliance disconnected 6 million customers last quarter, and Malaysian carriers had to disconnect about 20% of their subscribers in an effort to register all accounts. The big reason for such drastic measures is the prepaid nature of mobile business in these markets.
David Kerr, Vice President, Global Wireless Practice, adds, “The increase in churn highlights the challenge of managing subscriber growth in many prepaid-centric emerging markets. In these markets, where new connections involve simply placing a new SIM card into one’s existing handset, competitive activity is having an increasingly detrimental impact on subscriber behavior and churn levels.”
As much as we might moan about being locked into plans for years on end, it certainly makes for a more stable industry.
The voice of the BlackBerry community.
