BlackBerry flips to pursue consumers

Posted on 10 Sep 2008 at 11:33

Research in Motion (RIM) is launching its first-ever flip version of its BlackBerry Pearl smartphone. Co-CEO Jim Balsillie claims the handset is "extremely important" to capturing more retail users.

"Seventy percent of the mobile phone users in the United States use a flip," said Balsillie. "There's never been a smartphone or a BlackBerry option for that."

The smartphone has multimedia features such as a video and a music player, and also a 2-megapixel camera with flash. The device also has an abridged keyboard as well as a web browser.

RIM currently has over 16 million existing BlackBerry users, and claims that "non-enterprise" customers - small and medium business users and consumers - now represent more than 40 per cent of that total.

The company's current drive for retail consumers puts the BlackBerry in direct competition with Apple's iPhone, as well as smartphone handsets from Motorola and Nokia. Balsillie claims that competition in the retail space is not a worry for the company, as its revenue figures have not suffered from this shift in RIM's strategic direction.

The flip version of the BlackBerry Pearl will be on sale worldwide this Autumn, and RIM has not yet revealed pricing details.

Asked whether we should expect RIM to launch more BlackBerry models before the end of the year, Balsillie replied: "We're far from done."

Author: Theo Salvador

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