BlackBerry still a big hit in Indonesia
The heydays of BlackBerry, the iconic smartphone with one of the first integrated push-email services that was a massive global success in the pre-iPhone era between the late 1990s and 2011, may be over, but the device still has a large fan base in Indonesia.
“More than six million people still use BlackBerry in Indonesia, and we believe that BlackBerry can still grow in the Indonesian market,” Tan Lie Pin, CEO of Tiphone Mobile Indonesia, a contract manufacturer for Blackberry, told Bloomberg.
After BlackBerry decided to stop making its handsets, Tiphone, an affiliate of telecom operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia Persero, struck a deal with BlackBerry to form a local joint venture called BB Merah Putih to make its devices in Indonesia. While the Canadian company is shifting its focus to software, Indonesia remains one of BlackBerry’s biggest markets, and in the past it also launched dedicated phones and apps for the Indonesian market, home to 240 million people.
Under the deal, Blackberry phones will be manufactured at a factory owned by a subsidiary of Tiphone Mobile for domestic sales. Another local company is in talks to join the venture.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen said this week the company would stop making phones and focus its attention on the more profitable and growing software business. The company plans to negotiate manufacturing agreements with multiple overseas partners. While Tan said Tiphone will manufacture phones for the Indonesian market, discussions on the venture are continuing with BlackBerry.
BlackBerry’s popularity in Indonesia stems from its hugely popular instant-messaging app, BlackBerry Messenger, known as BBM. Many Indonesians still stick to BBM in order to connect with their curated groups of friends and family, even though some of them no longer use BlackBerry devices.
The heydays of BlackBerry, the iconic smartphone with one of the first integrated push-email services that was a massive global success in the pre-iPhone era between the late 1990s and 2011, may be over, but the device still has a large fan base in Indonesia. "More than six million people still use BlackBerry in Indonesia, and we believe that BlackBerry can still grow in the Indonesian market,” Tan Lie Pin, CEO of Tiphone Mobile Indonesia, a contract manufacturer for Blackberry, told Bloomberg. After BlackBerry decided to stop making its handsets, Tiphone, an affiliate of telecom operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia Persero, struck...
The heydays of BlackBerry, the iconic smartphone with one of the first integrated push-email services that was a massive global success in the pre-iPhone era between the late 1990s and 2011, may be over, but the device still has a large fan base in Indonesia.
“More than six million people still use BlackBerry in Indonesia, and we believe that BlackBerry can still grow in the Indonesian market,” Tan Lie Pin, CEO of Tiphone Mobile Indonesia, a contract manufacturer for Blackberry, told Bloomberg.
After BlackBerry decided to stop making its handsets, Tiphone, an affiliate of telecom operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia Persero, struck a deal with BlackBerry to form a local joint venture called BB Merah Putih to make its devices in Indonesia. While the Canadian company is shifting its focus to software, Indonesia remains one of BlackBerry’s biggest markets, and in the past it also launched dedicated phones and apps for the Indonesian market, home to 240 million people.
Under the deal, Blackberry phones will be manufactured at a factory owned by a subsidiary of Tiphone Mobile for domestic sales. Another local company is in talks to join the venture.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen said this week the company would stop making phones and focus its attention on the more profitable and growing software business. The company plans to negotiate manufacturing agreements with multiple overseas partners. While Tan said Tiphone will manufacture phones for the Indonesian market, discussions on the venture are continuing with BlackBerry.
BlackBerry’s popularity in Indonesia stems from its hugely popular instant-messaging app, BlackBerry Messenger, known as BBM. Many Indonesians still stick to BBM in order to connect with their curated groups of friends and family, even though some of them no longer use BlackBerry devices.
