Thanks to a trade-in program where BlackBerry owners could trade in their old device for credit towards the Z10, sales in India have seen a 40% boost. This isn't altogether surprising, since the Z10 and Q10's price point have been seen as their biggest hurdle towards mass adoption in emerging markets. Depending on which phone was traded in, the discount could range between 3,000 and 11,000 rupees (which works out to between $47 and $175). Currently the program doesn't extend to the Q10 or Q5, which is a little surprising - especially the Q5, which has been tailored to those shopping on a budget.
In any case, I'm sure the recently-launched 9720 will address those that find the Z10 too expensive, even with trade-in credit.
Reader comments
BlackBerry trade-in program boosts India Z10 sales by 40%
Its not completely true. Last Sunday i went to a Blackberry Store in Kolkata (India) to trade off my Bold 9900 for Z10 / Q10. The response i got from them was quite shocking for me....they said that 9900 is an obsolete model now (despite of me telling them that i bought it just 4-5 months back) and they offered 6K for it. So curiously i asked them what if i want to trade off Z10 / Q10 for any other flagship model of blackberry in the next 5-6 months, they said that by that time the current models may get obsolete coz of poor sales and i may get similar trade off price...I was very disappointed that blackberry hurdle is naming their models as 'obsolete' and i walked out of the showroom and bought iphone 5. I left the BB brand after 6 years...:-(
NICE! This will be great for promotion
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Paying absolutely no mind to the content of this article, that is quite a lovely photo.
Being a huge BlackBerry fan and from India what I have noticed is BlackBerry has zero in store marketing.. During this scheme, even the store owners were not aware of some offer going on like this.. besides, many Indian smartphone users are pseudo users, who just like to flaunt their latest, expensive gadgets.. What I realised that many ignorant or first time users could not even get to wake up the device because there is no unlock button and gestures to an unknown person makes the phone difficult to operate.. that's where I feel BlackBerry should have put trained personnel inside stores to show the phones to each customer that walked in.. and trust me putting a person at each counter is not that expensive in India, especially when you are selling a phone which as per public perception is expensive, app less, and button less, which makes it so difficult to even wake up..
This scheme surely would have helped BlackBerry India in someway.. lot of my friends using Bold jumped ship to Z10.. They should bring it to Q5 and Q10 too.. physical key board and BBM are two big usp's for many existing BlackBerry users..
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Where is canadas trade if BlackBerry program.
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Indians have money to buy.... Just show them why BlackBerry is better than the rest... and they'll go in crowds to buy...
Apple iPhone similarly priced is sold well.... BlackBerry needs to increase their Marketing efforts here seriously.
Posted via the awesome z10 using CB10
I have enquired in a number of retail outlets even after this offer was released and they still don't mention that the Z10 sales have improved. It is mainly because of the pricing of the product. The Z is available for much less when imported from Europe that is being done by a lot of online retailers who even offer a sellers warranty along with it. The retailers claim that Q10 sales are average (better than Z) and about 10 to 15 units a month and the Q5 is doing much better than any other BlackBerry now.
Something like this should be available in Canada, I see a lot of legacy devices on the daily commute and it infuriates me (on some level) the marketing geniuses haven't thought of bringing the equivalent of a "Cash for Clunkers" program into their own backyard.
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Sorry to sound so negative, but this 40% increase sounds the same as the Z10 sales at launch being "more than 50% better than any other launch day in our history."
That must be why they cut production 10% lol
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/another-production-cut-blackberry-16000274...
Actually the no of people having Z10 are rising in Delhi and other metros,i am based in Delhi and see lot of buss this new trade in program has done.
Actually i again repeat that BB should take keen interest in Indian market,smartphone market is going to be in billion of dollars .
4G LTE also revolutionaries the smart phone upsurge here starting from next year.
Woot Woot!! They must have sold 140 phones this week then lol
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The BlackBerry Z10 is the finest all touch smartphone available. Next, the Z30 will fill that role and the Z10 will become an affordable alternative, remaining an excellent smartphone and another available option to be used to upgrade legacy users to an awesome new BlackBerry experience.
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I might hand off my z10 and take on the z30. BB10 is a great platform and is super stable. It's sad that people will never get to use it because they are closed minded.
BlackBerry will survive in the Corporate and Government Sectors! My Z10 is so much better than an iphone!
Z10 is the nicest looking all touch smartphone available. It is also the most functional and best all touch smartphone on the market around the world. Good show!
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lol
Pretty good move from BlackBerry.
Why wouldn't BlackBerry do this for U S customers? The time is now!
BlackBerry India has a CEO really I never knew BlackBerry had a CEO in every country
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Blackberry India CEO thinks we all are fools. If they initially sold 1000 Z10 devices and now are selling1400 thats a 40% rise. Still 1400 Z10's wont make Blackberry India profitable. This is just a marketing gimmick. No one cares for Blackberry any longer in India.
BB has lost all its charm here in India! :(
"I'm sure the recently-launched 9720 will address those that find the Z10 too expensive"
I'm scratching my head trying to understand this logic.
Especially with Nokia near the top in mind share, overall, in these markets, I scratch my head as well.
sold 1000 p means 1400 now!
I would like to see blackberry cut all their prices, they need to gain market share. I bought my Z10 the day it came out and I'm very happy with it but more people would buy if there was a clear advantage over the Samsung and Apple premier phones
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The advantages are clear as glass, they just need to work on pulling back the curtains
I wonder why it's not being done here in the US. You are sinking. Why not get people on the new device and phase off the old which brought you down.
More importantly, getting people to use the new one would give it much-needed exposure to the general populace. Reward the folks who stuck by you and get the devices into the wild so that they can show people what BlackBerry can do. Imagine the better ROI they would have gotten from spending the $4M for the Super Bowl commercial on waiving the $200 contract price for the first X number of customers on each carrier to pre-order a new handset. Set it up so that every hour a fixed number of handsets comes available for the promotion, giviing away roughly 1000/day for 3 weeks. I know that 20k handsets is not a HUGE number, but I'm sure that the promotion itself would have generated FAR more buzz than the flop commercial and it would have been driving repeat traffic over a long period of time. Throw in a few 'winners' of limited edition colors and bam! Plus, I'm sure they spent a boat load of cash on the firm that created and produced the commercial and that could have translated into even more free handsets
My carrier did have this program during June and July. I traded in an old 9800 to get $100 off my Z10. I am on AT&T.
This trade in program should have been implemented since the beginning.
The Z10 is/will be selling at or close to $0 in the US on 2 yr contracts so getting a trade in credit to boot is unlikely unless inventories are that bloated.
Also on a related note an equities analyst here in the States is reporting that BB cut production volumes by at least a million on BB10 devices to deal with very poor sell through. As a result the analyst is reducing his current quarter revenue number to $2.3B. He is projecting lower total and BB10 sales than the previous quarter (by a fair bit).
Finally he lowered his BB buyout target from $21 to 17/sh.
Saw this on Seeking Alpha.
Good news and good strategy for upselling..could use actual numbers, but we should do the same in US. Especially for q10/5.
Go BlackBerry......at last some good news :)
Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Z10
O think this should be implemented everywhere! And it'll get more advertisement of the new os!
Finger flicking good! Z10
Wrong presumption that 9720 will be selling good in emerging markets.
With respect to price bb10, worldwide there has been outcry over it been too expensive for less so called specs. Does not matter emerging or developed markets.
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<Arm chair CEO rant>
This program should really be brought to Canada (and the rest of the world). I still see lots of people walking around with BBOS devices - this program would give them a nice incentive to upgrade and stay with the brand rather then jump ship when their carrier upgrade time comes around. And not just consumers, I can only assume businesses would take advantage of it as well.
</Arm chair CEO rant>
Totally agree. Give current OS7 users a token of good will to stay with BlackBerry else they will be sent on their way with a cheap android or old iPhone giveaway.
BlackBerry will survive in the Corporate and Government Sectors! My Z10 is so much better than an iphone!
they should give the 9720 for free.. if someone trades in, they should get credit towards appworld..
Good program. Would like to see this elsewhere to help boost sales.
Still not sure why bb10 isn't picking up traction. Best phone I've ever used and I've tried them all.
Posted via CB10
It's because hardly anyone knows about what it can do.
^ This. I have seen NO marketing that indicates that this BlackBerry is any different than the BlackBerry we all know best for its world-class hourglassing
amen.
I will second this. I have been wanting a Q10(Sprint doesn't have it yet) and wanted to show my wife it's merits(she does mostly email and texting so it would have been perfect for her). She went into the T-Mobile store hesitant to try it out(not quite sure why) to wanting the phone when we left. The sales guy was great! We spoke to two and both had nothing but good things to say. They both said the apps are a little lacking but nothing a little side loading couldn't help(and said they would recommend to any, even non-tech savvy people). I think what sealed the deal is the sales guy had a Q10 himself and showed us how he connects his WiiMote to the phone via Bluetooth and then plays emulated games(specifically Mario) on his large screen TV. She didn't know all that it could do and was amazed and what it was capable of.
I knew all that stuff, but I'm glad someone else was there to tell and show her so she could see it for herself.
What experience you just shared is one of the greatest problems for BlackBerry in this sense. In Canada, we get the exact opposite experience. I have gone to Bell, Rogers, Best Buy, Walmart etc and they push iphones and androids to everyone. Why, because the staff are generally young and they want you to buy what they use. The younger generation does not have a clue about BB10 and they could careless frankly. I truly believe the z10 is so much better than the iphone in so many ways. I have taken the time to test the z10 vs my daughters iphone. Not even a comparison. The only thing the app advantage, but she barely even has apps on her phone. They text and text and text. You know what is really funny is they use sms so much as a cross platform means. It's nothing to see 3000 text messages per month on teenagers phones. It's surprising that people say they need Whatsapp yet they always revert to sms. So I asked why? The answer was plain. Dad everyone has sms whether they have a smart phone or not. So we all have to continue to pay sms charges. Wow in this day and age....sorry got off topic. point being, they should have BlackBerry z10 because the hub is a communication machine and that is what they use their phones for. They have no time to do anything else. They have the wrong device for their own use, and they don't even know it and they sell the wrong device to the masses. Irony at its best.
BlackBerry will survive in the Corporate and Government Sectors! My Z10 is so much better than an iphone!
So true. When you go into a phone shop here in the UK all they are pushing is iPhone and Samsung they have no knowledge or interest in Blackberry. Such a shame that people have no idea what a brilliant phone it is!
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So true, I've tried iphone and I own a Galaxy S3. This Z10 is by far the best I have ever used. But nobody knows that.
Probably that's the reason why recently the Z10's have been out of stock in some stores here in Mumbai
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Z10 should have been 49.99 with 2 year contract in att anyway
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In my country (Colombia) this program would be successful with the Q5... a lot of people have old curve what want to replace...
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They should do that here in the US.
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In the US you can get the Z10 for only $99 on contract.
They should do it anyway. You have a user base of 80 million people all over the world, try to make them switch to BB10, increase your users, that will attract developers, you need to break the vicious circle you are in. No need to be a genius.
I agree, but that 80 million is now down to 72 million and I imagine by the end of the quarter will be closer to 68 million.
Good news, but I'd like to see what the actual numbers are
No doubt. A 40% increase compared to what?
Nice to see a 40 percent increase in sales, however doesn't really mean much if you don't have the base number. However I do agree with the strategy because it will help maintain existing customers which is very important.
BlackBerry will survive in the Corporate and Government Sectors! My Z10 is so much better than an iphone!
The other piece of good news is that since it only applies to the Z10, that would tell me the Q10/5 are doing ok. I hope that's the case.
I would only make that assumption, without numbers, for the Q10 as the Q5 is probably more price sensitive.
BES 10 will survive. It might get a new name, but the security services, the NOC and the patents are what the new owner will want from BlackBerry. The rest, likely including the name BlackBerry, will be broken off and sold as pieces to the highest bidder.
So the hardware division will be most likely sold, and BlackBerry 10 will probably be scrapped. The only plus side there is that most of what went into BlackBerry 10 will survive through QNX Car 2 and whether kept by the new owner or not, it's likely to stay business as usual at QNX.
Agree with PlayBooks response.
Cut the price of the Q5 to near nothing...
Sent via Z10 on Verizon running a .1047 hybrid thru CB10
Bravo for BlackBerry.
One would argue that this was what BlackBerry should have done all along in January 2013, for *all* markets in the world:
1) BlackBerry trade-in for Z10 (and Q10 later).
More BlackBerry BB10 users would entice more developers to develop Apps for BB10.
2) Aggressive pricing for this *Mid*Tier* Z10.
(Don't price this mid-tier Z10 same price as the Flagship S3/S4 and iPh*ne5 !!)
3) Ensure that all devices have BBOS 10.2 installed in all Z10 devices.
(Looking back, this should have been done back in January 2013).
4) If necessary, BlackBerry should have *paid* some of the top key App developers to roll out native BB10 apps for great momentum. The smaller App developers would follow suit after that.
5) Market BlackBerry World Apps like crazy.
Periodically give away Free Apps to get BB10 users' attention and App developers' attention.
These free Apps sometimes sponsored by App developers themselves, sometimes sponsored by BlackBerry.
Honestly, I don't understand why none of these were implemented back in January 2013...
That's very true they should have paid the big app then let the smaller app make their way to the bbl words
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