Research In Motion (RIM) is making another attempt to capture the South African cellular market with its BlackBerry smartphone, following a "disastrous" first attempt.
The company`s strategy includes targeting the South African consumer market, especially the youth, and dealing with some of the issues that resulted in low BlackBerry uptake in SA.
RIM acknowledges one of the reasons the first attempt in 2005 failed was because local users saw the BlackBerry as ugly, clunky and too expensive. "We didn`t spend enough time dealing with the form factor - the phones were big and ugly," says RIM SA spokesman Deon Liebenberg.
Liebenberg says another barrier was that RIM`s South African partners - mobile operators Vodacom and MTN - have traditionally sold the technology, rather than the benefits of a mobile solution. Thirdly, BlackBerry launched in SA amid huge hype, but little delivery, he adds.
Liebenberg says RIM has accelerated its efforts to penetrate the market, and has seen significant growth in the past three months.
Part of the company`s local strategy involves a stronger focus on the consumer market - something that is not traditional to RIM`s global strategy, Liebenberg says.
Vu Nguyen, head of the Vodafone business unit at RIM, notes that enterprise accounts for 70% of RIM`s global revenue. That segment of the South African market will not be neglected while RIM SA goes for the consumer market, he says.
RIM has also launched more attractive handsets that have easier navigation and are more affordable, Liebenberg says. "We are also pushing the operators to look at a prepaid value proposition for BlackBerry access. We are in discussions."
He says RIM has narrowed the time lag between the launch of BlackBerry handsets in Europe and SA. "SA will launch the same as Europe. This market is as appealing as the European market."
Liebenberg would not disclose the number of local BlackBerry users. However, Nguyen notes that RIM has presence in 110 countries globally, 10 of which are in Africa. The company has 10.5 million users globally, he adds.
Battle ahead
While every manufacturer is looking for ways to pre-empt the iPhone, BlackBerry`s challenge is broader, as it is up against the incumbents, as well as the upstarts, says World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck.
"BlackBerry launched into a rising market [in the 2005-2007 period], and found itself in a storm of competition for attention. They are competing with every phone manufacturer that has a smartphone geared towards e-mail and calendar synchronisation."
He says the company`s annual mobility study showed e-mail on the cellphone was the fastest growing mobile application among corporate users between 2005 and 2007, as high-end phones released in that period were e-mail-capable.
However, there is still scope for RIM to capture market share in SA, he says. "It`s hard to make a call on market share [that it can capture], because they are all relatively new. But BlackBerry is not yet the name on everyone`s lips, and is not seen as an alternative to the better known brands at this stage."
Liebenberg argues that RIM is not a handset manufacturer. "I don`t see us competing with HTC and Nokia directly on devices; we provide solutions and do not sell handsets."
Another hurdle that BlackBerry faces is that it requires proprietary mail servers, whereas most other smartphones use the existing network, says Goldstuck.
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