We've written a few posts in the past about UK Police Forces taking up the BlackBerry solution in order to aid them in getting more Police Officers out on the streets policing instead of constantly being in the Police Stations filing paper work. One Police Force had even added the a fingerprint scanner attachment to their BlackBerry devices to be able to ID perps they've stopped on the streets a lot faster.

It seems that India is following suit in the city of Bangalore, where the police computer wing of Karnataka state police put up the proposal. It differs to the UK in that this BlackBerry solution is for the traffic police in order to help them produce on the spot fines for violating motorists.

There are currently 750 police officers in the traffic wing of Bangalore city police who have been issued with BlackBerry devices. They have also been provided with Bluetooth enabled printers so that documents can be printed on the spot. It is said that the implementation of this BlackBerry solution will also add another 250 police officers to aid in manning the traffic in the busy city.

News like this is just another testament to how reliable the BlackBerry solution is in providing people with the tools they need to carry out tasks without being tied to the desk.

Source: Times of India

Anyone that doubts the future of Research In Motion and the BlackBerry brand need look no further than the developing markets outside of North America to see that not only is RIM not dead, it is in fact flourishing in other parts of the world. South Africa, Indonesia, and Mexico are all huge contributors to revenue, with Nigeria soon to be added to the list. Robert Bose, head of RIM for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, revealed at BlackBerry World that within the next two months a BlackBerry office will open in Lagos, making Nigeria a specific target market.

Nigeria currently has a very small smartphone market at this time with only 5% of phone users owning one. However, BlackBerry is the number one smartphone brand with half of that market already using the RIM made devices. With inexpensive unlimited internet plans and the high popularity of BlackBerry Messenger in this region (97% of BlackBerry users in Nigeria use BBM) combined with inexpensive phones such as the BlackBerry Curve 8520, it's no wonder the brand has gone viral. It's not just a matter of money, however. BlackBerry was voted as the most popular phone among teenagers and there was even a series of Nollywood films released last year called BlackBerry Babes focusing on how your social status can be harmed if you don't own a BlackBerry. All of this, without any direct representation of the brand.

Don't let yourself be fooled by the popularity low-end devices. High-end devices such as the Bold 9900 sell just as well as the more inexpensive Curve line. "A lot of people expect that the only devices we would sell in Nigeria would be the 8520 or the cheapest phones,” says Waldi Wepener, RIM's regional director for East, Central and West Africa. “But we sell as many at the high end. Because Nigeria is not a subsidized market, and operators don't subsidize devices down to zero, the price of the device at the user level is very visible. And that doesn't hold back the market.”

So what does all of this mean for RIM and BlackBerry? There is currently a market of 100 million phone users, with 5 million of those people using smartphones, and half of that number are BlackBerry smartphones. It's only a matter of time until the population begins to migrate en masse to smartphones, which opens up tens of millions of new users for RIM in the next few years. And that's just in Nigeria. Research In Motion already has stores opening across India and the Middle East where BlackBerry sales have been thriving. Of course, winning back the North American market is still important and most would agree that it's crucial to RIM's survival for the long run. But that is a battle that will take a lot of work and won't be won overnight. It's good to know that in the meantime, BlackBerry and Research In Motion aren't going under, they're simply winning over other markets while rebuilding their image back home.

Discuss more in the forums

Source: ITWeb

RIM has plans to open up to 15 premium stores in India by the end of the year. The first store open in Delhi last month, with a second store newly opened last Friday in Gurgaon. RIM plans to open these stores in major locations around India, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

The stores will feature special areas which will showcase both consumer and enterprise applications, complete with live demos. Sunil Dutt, Managing Director of RIM India says, "These stores will offer holistic consumer experience on BlackBerry consumer and enterprise services."

Asia, where RIM has a high subscriber base has already seen stores open in Indonesia and Thailand, so it comes as now surprise to see them set up shop in India where it BlackBerry smartphone usage is also high and has seen a big increase in subscriber numbers in the past months, especially within the youth market. 

It's nice to see RIM building these premium stores in places where there is high demand, even the Middle East saw a flagship store open in Dubai last month. I would like to see them bring these stores to the Europe in the near future, perhaps in the U.K. first? One can only hope.

Discuss more in the forums

Source: Times of India, image credit

[Youtube link for mobile viewing]

Press Release

RIM Introduces a New, Easy to Use and Easy to Own BlackBerry Smartphone for India

Sleek, stylish, affordable BlackBerry Curve 9220 puts Indians in control of their social life

India - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced its most affordable BlackBerry® 7 smartphone for customers in India. The new BlackBerry® Curve™ 9220 smartphone offers all the market-leading BlackBerry messaging and social-centric features that people love in India.  Designed to be easy to use and easy to own, this compact and sleek smartphone provides many conveniences and applications to help keep users connected to the people and information that matter most to them. It also offers the longest lasting battery life yet in a BlackBerry Curve model, allowing users to make the most of their day.  

“India is a very important market for RIM and we are extremely proud and excited to officially unveil and launch the new BlackBerry Curve 9220 for the first time here in India,” said Carlo Chiarello, SVP, Smartphone Business at Research In Motion.

“The new BlackBerry Curve 9220 offers a unique mobile experience that young Indians will love thanks to its affordable pricing and unmatched messaging and social connectivity features,” said Sunil Dutt, Managing Director for India at RIM.

The BlackBerry Curve 9220 has everything a user needs to stay socially connected throughout the day. It even features a dedicated BBM™ key, bringing the power of RIM’s popular mobile social network up in an instant. The Facebook® for BlackBerry and Twitter® for BlackBerry apps are included as well as Social Feeds, which allows users to post updates to multiple social applications simultaneously and capture updates from news sources (RSS), social apps and instant messaging apps all in one consolidated view.

Continue reading article

On Saturday, India Today reported that the India government is getting its way when it comes to tapping into BlackBerry devices.

I sure hope RIM handles this clearly with the remaining global media sources who haven't yet written about this. For years, there have been significant misunderstandings about RIM security. It has lead to a lot of crappy reporting. And unless RIM takes a different strategy this time, it's bound to lead to more of the same.

The India Today article is well written. The issues are clearly laid out. The government needed RIM's help to decrypt BBM messages coming from BIS accounts. So to be very clear, RIM is not helping the government decrypt BES messages. RIM has always said they don't hold the keys to BES decryption. Those keys are specific to each BES installation.

Continue reading article

We've been seeing a lot of price crashing on the BlackBerry PlayBook the past couple of months, with RIM employees getting huge discounts and recently in the UK Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse dropping their prices down to £169 for the 16GB model. India is next in line to get a price drop, this time 50% off the original price tag at release.

The PlayBook 16GB was priced at Rs 27,990 when launched back in June and is now available for Rs 13,490. The 32GB model is now Rs 15,990 and the 64GB model is Rs 24,490. This price drop, however, is stated to be a limited time offer only until December 31st 2011. So, if you're living in India and looking to get your hands on the a PlayBook now is the time to do so before this offer ends.

Source: Business Standard India 

The above video is a new promo from RIM that shows off the latest BlackBerry 7 devices and is actually pretty well done. It gives you that feeling that you want to own a BlackBerry and be part of the "BlackBerry Family" by picking up one of these new devices. I actually like this ad quite a bit and I'm not sure why RIM doesn't take the same approach to commercials here in the US, Canada or other parts of the world. As I've said many times before, RIM has always been a bit subpar when it comes to showing off the features of devices, so having an ad like this would be a great morale boost of sorts. It doesn't dive into what the device can actually do, but it give off that "happy frappy" feeling of owning a BlackBerry. What do you think? Would you like to see more ads like this across the board?  Let us know in the comments.

India has just welcomed a new addition to the BlackBerry family. The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is one sleek looking little device, and a great addition to the Curve line. Featuring the latest BlackBerry OS 7, an 800Mhz processor, 5MP camera with flash, and more, all the features you love about BlackBerry can be yours. Pricing sits at Rs. 19,990, and a partnership with Bharti Airtel offers new BlackBerry Curve 9360 owners 2 months of free BIS.

To celebrate the launch of the new device, RIM hosted a party last night in Delhi and the good folks over at BBin were in attendance. They have quite a few pictures up on their website, and a video, so if you want to check that out, head over to the source link below and take a look!

Source: BBin.in

It's official–RIM's updated all-in-one slider design has landed in India. The sleek and discreet BlackBerry Torch 9810 follows in the Torch 9800's footsteps, bringing a powerful 1.2Ghz processor and Liquid Graphics to the table, with BlackBerry 7 software atop for good measure. Priced at a cool 27,990 Indian rupees (approx. $600 USD), the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is definitely no slouch and still holds its own against other BlackBerry 7 handsets.

Available from Redington with 18 months warranty, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the second BlackBerry 7 powered handset to reach the Indian market, right after the BlackBerry Bold 9900. With a good price and an all-new operating system to boot, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 will likely cater to India's BlackBerry-hungry market, and hopefully encourage further expansion of RIM's portfolio of BlackBerry products in the country.

Source: BBin

Local mobile dealer Mahesh Telecom made it known on its Twitter account yesterday that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 has officially arrived in India. With physical stock coming in less than a few days and a price tag of Rs. 31290 (approx. $700 USD), this is the first time in RIM's history that a handset is launched in India before the United States. Soon the Indian population will have the pleasure to experience Liquid Graphics on a high resolution 2.8" display, a quick processor clocked at 1.2Ghz and 768MB of RAM, to ensure that the new BlackBerry 7 operating system as well as your favorite apps will have plenty of space to live in.

As India is both home to a GSM and CDMA community, the equivalent sister model to the BlackBerry Bold 9900, the Bold 9930, is also set to release by local carriers later this year. This is certainly exciting news and further proof of RIM's commitment to thrive in today's world not only home, but on a global scale.

Via: BBin

State-owned telecommunications operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has started offering an alternative, more affordable service alongside its current BIS offering in India. The service in question may ring some bells as it is none other than Bharat Berry. Back when tensions between India and RIM were at their peak, several local companies in the country considered utilizing alternative solutions to BIS or moving out of the BlackBerry platform altogether. Concerns arose when the future of BIS in India was uncertain, but the situation is nothing like this anymore - India and RIM have long buried all troubles of the past.

Funambol-based Bharat Berry brings push email as well as contacts and calendar sync to your BlackBerry smartphone. It is available on MTNL for a monthly subscription rate of Rs. 80 (approximately 1.80 USD). It should be noted that Bharat Berry can't offer any other services such as BBM, but for the low price of the service, it is likely to attract many individuals who simply need no more than push email and PIM sync. So while the service is not perfect, it is a start. And as Ajay Data, Director at Bharat Berry, puts it, "We [Bharat Berry] are looking to make every handset in this country an empowered one."

Click here for more information on Bharat Berry

Envisioning a prime potential for the BlackBerry Style to succeed in the country of spicy cuisine and papadum, RIM Managing Director in India, the characteristic Frenny Bawa reveals RIM's strategy to broaden its portfolio of BlackBerry products and services in India. She also mentions the importance of the CDMA platform while talking relevant numbers and percentages - watch her interview above for everything down to the last detail.

But, there's more. Currently working for RIM in Jakarta, Stephen Zane suggests that India is not the only country to receive RIM's blessing. In a teasing Tweet he states, and I quote, "BlackBerry Style is coming to Indonesia. Are you ready??" Well, are you?

Continue reading article

A center point in recent international news - India that is, for a reason. BOLT was just upgraded with support for Indic languages, that super cool BlackBerry India commercial was aired not long ago and despite some complexities lately, India is rolling well. And now, the mobile Indian population gets to taste the latest magic from RIM: the BlackBerry Bold 9780.

With twice the memory and a higher quality camera over its predecessor, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 will likely please BlackBerry loving India. As in the TV commercial, the picture takers and movie makers are sure to appreciate the latter addition and the memory advantage is there to speed things up in general, so the young and the restless get more done in less time. After all, "It's our time. Now."

All excited about the BlackBerry Bold 9780 in India is RIM's gorgeous Frenny Bawa, Managing Director in India: "BlackBerry smartphones are very well received in India and we are pleased to be working with our partners to launch the new BlackBerry Bold 9780 in the Indian market." Yes, this very lady gave Nokia a verbal smackdown back when the BlackBerry Curve 8520 was launched in India as well!

But, the ultimate question still remains unanswered: price. Luckily, Mahesh Telecom has Tweeted that the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is available for Rs. 26,900 (approx. 590 USD). So, any CrackBerry readers from India planning to get their hands on the new Bold? Be heard in the comments!

In a stir of events between the Indian government and RIM, the COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) has stepped up to back RIM over decrypting corporate e-mail. Rajan S. Mathews, Director-General of COAI, said "If the government wants to intercept messages, operators provide the bit string information. The government must develop the expertise to decrypt messages as encryption and decryption is its responsibility. Operator cannot provide text messages." He also added that all issues except corporate e-mail have been resolved, but without cooperation from local enterprises, decryption of corporate e-mail is simply not possible.

Continue reading article