The current ‘BlackBerry Nation’ title holder is undoubtedly Indonesia. There was even an unintentional mosh pit during the release of the BlackBerry Bold 9790. Imagine if users across North America and Europe still lined up the streets to get their hands on the first BlackBerry devices.However, it seems Indonesia may have a new contender for the title. The same trend is beginning to show within the Philippines. While the iPhone and Android devices are popular, they have yet to beat the popularity of BlackBerry with its cheap monthly plans.For example, Globe offers the BlackBerry Curve 8520 handset for PhP 6,990 (US$ 168) as a prepaid kit. The cheapest BBM-only prepaid plan goes for PhP 99 per month (US$ 2.38). Messaging or social plans are at PhP 299 per month (US$ 7.20), while a full-fledged BIS plan with mobile web, email, chat and social apps cost PhP 599 monthly (US$ 14.40), good for both prepaid and contract plans.Can the “texting capital of the world†become the new ‘BlackBerry Nation’? There is growing concern BlackBerry may see a bite in usage as Indonesian carriers reportedly plan to introduce unlimited cross-platform messaging plans. Nevertheless, one thing remains true, if you’re in the need for a powerful messaging tool, nothing beats a BlackBerry with BBM.via e27
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Could the Philippines be the Next ‘BlackBerry Nation’? (September,2012)