RIM also plans to launch CDMA variants of its handsets soon.
RIM has announced price cuts of up to 26% for its handset segment in India. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is now available at Rs 9000 (18% cut over Rs 11,000), Torch 9860at Rs 22,000 (26% cut on Rs 30,000), Curve 9380 at Rs 17,000 (originally Rs 21,000), and Curve 9360 at Rs 19,000 (originally Rs 20,000). The company aims to tap a wider base of the large smartphone market in India, and introducing price cuts is one of the main policies it is going to implement, says RIM India MD Sunil Dutt. This is in trend with the recently announced price cuts for its PlayBooktablets.
The company is also planning to launch several of its BlackBerry handsets into the untapped CDMA territory of the country, apparently to help it boost sales and gain market share. One of its first launches or rather re-launches is going to be the Curve 8530, a CDMA version of the Curve 8520, at Rs 12,000, which is 12% lower than its earlier price of Rs 13,500. The move will definitely be beneficial to the company, as CDMA users usually do not have the large choice of smartphones, which their GSM counterparts take for granted.
RIM India Head of CDMA Business, Francis Jose said, "Smartphones are getting popular day by day, but a majority of these are on GSM technology. While CDMA mobile phones have been popular, there is a very little choice for consumers when it comes to CDMA smartphones. And that is why we are re-launching Curve 8530. People are ready to pay top dollar for good devices. CDMA technology has been known to provide great data experience and smartphones ensure that".
RIM currently has the following CDMA devices: BlackBerry Style 9670 at Rs 19,700, Curve 9330 at Rs 16,000, and the Bold 9650 and Curve 9350 both at Rs 21,000 each. Will the price cuts and launch of these CDMA handsets succeed in infusing fresh life into the ailing company? Only time will tell.
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