BlackBerry rejigs strategy, says Nigeria pivotal

to proft rebound
Global leader in mobile communications BlackBerry Limited said Ni
geria is a critical market in its strategy to return to proftability by 20
16, with a renewed ocus on its traditional strengths
!he company disclosed this last !hursday in Lagos, during the un"
eiling o the new BlackBerry #$ smartphone in the country%
&harles 'sinugo, territory director, (ast, )est, &entral and *outher
n 'rica, BlackBerry, said the company is capitalising on its traditional
strengths in security and enterprises%
Nigeria is key to our strategy to bring BlackBerry back to proftabili
ty% !he Nigerian market is one o the strategic markets or BlackBerry%
!he appetite or mobile de"ices is enormous here and we see a lot o o
pportunities to de"elop applications in Nigeria,+ he said
,e continued- .)e are no longer bleeding, we are beginning to reco"
er% )e ha"e a busy schedule o product roll out, and we are poised to
bring back Blackberry to proftability in 2016% )e listen to our custom
ers both in Nigeria and worldwide%+
)e ha"e got back to our roots by ocusing on security and enterpri
ses, and we belie"e that these will bring us back to proftability% )e ar
e also doing some partnerships and ac/uisitions, he said
&ommenting on the newly launched BlackBerry #$, 'sinugo said-
.)e are confdent that the Nigerian customers will fnd the BlackBerr
y #$ "aluable% 0t has impro"ed battery capacity% 's part o our strategy
to return to proftability, we ha"e looked into pricing% 1ur de"ices will
come down in price, but it does not necessarily mean that they are in
erior
)e are restructuring and restrategising, and we ha"e streamlined
our resources where necessary%+
&onsumers who purchase a BlackBerry #$ smartphone in 2uly can a
lso beneft rom an e3clusi"e app o4er, the company said, adding that
they simply ha"e to login into the BlackBerry )ord storeront rom th
eir BlackBerry #$ smartphone and download a selection o paid apps 5
worth N6,000 5 or ree%
!he de"ice is e3pected to retail through authorised partners at the
recommended price o N$7,000, according to the company%
!he BlackBerry #$ e3tends the BlackBerry 10 platorm to a new gen
eration o customers in Nigeria at an attracti"e price point and o4ers t
hem more ways to securely communicate, collaborate and be producti
"e with an e3perience built on reliable, secure communications% !he B
lackBerry #$ eatures a stylish design with a 899 touch display, an unri
"alled messaging and typing e3perience, e3ceptional battery lie, is e/
uipped with BlackBerry 10 1* "ersion 10%2%1 and is 'ndroid app comp
atible, the company said%
:ey eatures in the de"ice include BlackBerry ,ub, BB;, BlackBerr
y keyboard, time shit and story maker, BlackBerry 10 browser, instant
pre"iews and reply now, ast, easy sharing, <; radio and apps%
BlackBerry, which re"olutionised the mobile industry when it was in
troduced in 1777, aims to inspire the success o our millions o custom
ers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries o mobil
e e3periences, the company said
!witter= https->>twitter%com>?@&LB11: plurk= http->>www%plurk%com>sear
chkeywords A linkedincn%linkedin%com>pub>B>CD>10a>b70>(dit AEk
=http->>"k%com>chinateach Areddit=http->>www%reddit%com>user>e3tensions21>
Aweibo =http->>weibo%com>searchkeywords AtwitterFy3clbook