iPhone outsells RIM's BlackBerry in Canada for the first time
But sexting Middle Eastern teens remain loyal to BBM
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
The iPhone is outselling the BlackBerry in its home territory, Canada, in another humiliating mark of decline for mobe-makers RIM.
BlackBerry sold 2.08 million handsets in Canada in 2011 compared to iPhone sales of 2.85 million, according to figures from IDC and Bloomberg.
Canadians have remained loyal to Ontario-based RIM for years, with BlackBerrys outselling iPhones by five-to-1 in 2008 and sales still outstripping iPhones by half a million in 2010. But even patriotism can't keep the falling sales alive in the face of relentless growth from iPhone and Android.
Bloomberg reports that BlackBerry remains popular in certain sectors - among Canada's government and business bod as well as teens in many of the world's emerging markets. RIM's sales are still nearly twice those of Apple in the Middle East and Africa, where teens can get around local religious and cultural practices by using secure and free instant messaging service BBM to chat to members of the opposite sex.
But this won't be much consolation to new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, who picked up the reins in February and faces dropping sales, a falling share price and a lack of killer products – especially in the tablet space.
RIM appears to be exploring software development as a way to reinvent the company. A job posting from RIM seen today shows that RIM is looking for iOS developers. The hire-in could be a sign that BlackBerry is making a move into mobile device management software that would work on different platforms. A service such the touted BlackBerry Mobile Fusion platform would bring BlackBerry functions such as BBM to iOS on a Blackberry app. ®
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
COMMENTS
As a long time Canadian...
I would like to point out that we are not sheep. We do not "have" to have a RIM product simply because it is a Canadian company. When the RIM product is best suited for the task it will likely be purchased. Personally I haven't carried a BB for just over 5 years and can say that it was great when I needed it, but when that need went away, I haven't missed it.
I do own several Android smart phones and find them to work perfectly for my current needs. I can't quite see the need for an iPhone as I do not buy my productivity tools thinking they are fashion accessories.
Re: Not a happy (Canadian) camper...
Just because you haven’t figured out how to do something, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Try selecting a word and then expanding the selection by dragging the little blue ball thingies.
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Data control in the cloud
