STC signs partnership with RIM, announces the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Telecom Company has signed a partnership with RIM on Monday with goals to provide the end user a wider range of content, applications and solutions across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a result of the new partnership, STC announced the launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9900, making it the first BlackBerry 7 enabled handset to hit the Middle East.

Ibrahim Al-Omar, STC's Vice President for Retail, commented:

"The strategic partnership between STC and RIM is based on launching the level of coordination between the two companies in order to serve their common interests and fulfill customers' need for technologies and unique services. STC's interest in this partnership confirms its major role in launching and providing current and new smart devices to its customers, which is based on STC's strategy that revolves around the customer. STC was the first to bring the blackberry services into the Kingdom giving it a leading market position there, and resulted in doubling the number of customers in the BlackBerry service, which prompted us to meet their expectations by providing services and products that suit various tastes."

For Saudi Arabia to adopt new BlackBerry handsets this quickly, it can only mean that the BlackBerry Bold 9900, as well as the BlackBerry 7 platform, is off to a good start internationally. In fact, shortly after the official announcement of the BlackBerry Bold 9900, reports surfaced online about the grey market trading the handset in the Kingdom for $1000 U.S. dollars. The surprising news is that more than a handful of people actually bought these handsets, further proving that Saudi Arabia has an exceptionally strong and - without any exaggeration - addicted BlackBerry community.

Source: Arab News

BlackBerry remains number 1 selling smartphone in Saudi Arabia for eleven consecutive months

In spite of recent events, satirical publications and other difficulties pressuring RIM, not all of Waterloo is going the way of the dodo. Recent point-of-sale data by market research agency GfK Retail and Technology suggests that RIM has actually witnessed a year-on-year growth of 112% from May 2010 to May 2011. According to the same data, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 - commonly referred to by its codename 'Gemini' - was ranked the number 1 selling smartphone from July 2010 until May 2011 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Nothing short of interesting, the numbers presented in the data are also a little surprising. However, after a chat with a good friend of mine who spent some time in Saudi Arabia, the numbers are all but unexpected, or so he says. In fact, he assured me that it was well-nigh impossible to go a single day without hearing at least one 'di-ding' of an incoming BBM. It was not until he saw a 7-year-old girl carrying a BlackBerry smartphone that he thought the locals had "lost their minds". A similar trend can be seen in other parts of the world such as Indonesia, but what exactly is it about the BlackBerry smartphone that makes everyone so attached to it? I don't know, I honestly don't know. What I do know, however, is that RIM managed to add 1 million EMEA customers in just three weeks despite weaker than expected revenue for Q1 2011.

Patrick Spence, Managing Director of RIM EMEA, said that BlackBerry was the leading smartphone brand in the Netherlands, South Africa and the UK, as well as showing strong growth in the Middle East. I can only applaud RIM for reaching this milestone and hope that BlackBerry continues to be a strong brand around the world. The numbers are out there, the people have voiced their opinion and it is only a matter of time before #TeamBlackBerry will once again take victory and bestow its power on everyone. So if anything - THE RIMPIRE IS STRIKING BACK! GO #TeamBlackBerry!

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