BlackBerry cuts prices steeply

In this photo taken on Friday Aug. 27, 2010, a shopkeeper displays BlackBerry mobile phones in his shop in Ahmadabad, India. Indian authorities are scheduled to meet Monday evening, Aug. 30, to decide whether to ban some BlackBerry services in India, an official said, one day ahead of a government-imposed deadline for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. to give security agencies access to encrypted data or face a ban. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) on Wednesday announced a steep cut in the prices of its BlackBerry smartphones, a move that will further intensify competition in the hi-end mobile handset market.

RIM has reduced prices of its four popular phones — three in the Curve series and one Torch model — that accounts for its 60 per cent of its total sales.

Across models

The price of entry-level model, Curve 8520, has been reduced from Rs.10,990 to Rs.8,999, the new price of Curve 9360 is Rs.18,990 (old price Rs.20,990) and that of Curve 9380 Rs.16,990 (old price Rs.19,990). Similarly, the price of Torch 9860 has been reduced from Rs.29,990 to Rs.21,990.

Stating that the price cut would help the mobile handset-maker tap a wider base of the large Indian market, RIM India Managing Director Sunil Dutt said: “RIM as a brand has moved from just an enterprise device to as a more consumer device. Be it our services or the product, we have seen a strong uptake by the youth and therefore, to get the devices into more hands, we are cutting the prices.”

Industry estimates say the smartphone market in India stood at 1.1-crore handset in 2001, registering a growth of an impressive 87 per cent over 2010. Nokia was the leader in the smartphones segment, with 38 per cent share in 2011, followed by Samsung with 28 per cent share and RIM with a 15 per cent share.