Blackberry at Mobilefest: first public appearance in Russia. What to expect?

    I will say right away: I am not for RIM or against Android, I am for a variety of types and forms, I want users to be able to choose and not be clamped into one coordinate system. Therefore, I am by default for any alternative mobile OS, alternative from Android and iOS, which, well, the truth is already podzadolbali. It is clear that the future of each brand is in a hardware-platform bundle, systems like iPod + iTunes rule the world, and this trend will intensify even further with the purchase of Motorola’s mobile division by Google, everyone will rush to develop their own OSs and markets. Maybe this brings more crap to the developers, but, on the other hand, there are more opportunities to make money.

    In this post - a few thoughts about the Russian path of the company RIM, which recently had the same SDK (albeit a demo), and next week, company representatives will perform for the first time at an event for MobileFest developers in St. Petersburg.


    There will be two speakers from RIM at the eventIt’s obvious that they will be the headliners of the conference, as they are performing for the first time in public. This is Andrey Kiselev, whose position formally sounds like a “operator manager”, although in essence he represents the entire Russian office of RIM, as well as Ola Larsén, whose business card says “Head of Alliances for Northern Europe and Russia RIM / BlackBerry”. For the past 20 years, Andrei has worked in the field of Information Technology and Telecommunications in leading companies in North America and Europe, and returned to Russia from Italy. And Ola Larsen has been working in the IT / Telecom market for more than 16 years, among his track record there are such companies as Telia Sonera and Sony Ericsson.

    Now about the Playbook and the difficult fate of RIM in Russia. I’ve been going with the Playbook for more than a month as with the main tablet, and, of course, the main problem is the lack of applications. I still can’t get the basic software package to use, although, however, I have big requests in this regard. But let's say there is still no tweeter client, no Evernote, and much more, which is critical for me. By the way, I wrote a small review of the tablet for the Itogi magazine , but my hands will not reach the extended review, I'm still on vacation and I am writing this post while being in it :)

    The second problem of this particular tablet is the lack of a 3G module, but it is this “cant” that theoretically can give the Playbook a chance in the Russian market. After all, why is Andrei Kiselev called a manager for working with operators? Because all RIM products can be sold exclusively through operators, the company is not allowed on the Russian market by our special services. In all of its products, RIM uses secure protocols for transmitting data over cellular networks, and Blackberry products are used by special services of the USA and Canada, of course, our FSB must know exactly what data passes through the devices and localize their sales. That is why so far Blackberry smartphones can only be bought from operators where our special services servers are located, through which all traffic passes. That is why WiFi is blocked on Blackberry smartphones, although it is quite easy to get around. And thus, one of the main advantages of RIM products is information security, which is not an advantage in Russia. I know a person who uses a Blackberry smartphone purchased in the USA and does not connect it in Russia, but gets roaming, considering himself protected (though he does not use voice calls and SMS, uses only 3G and checks mail, which is connected with the international package T-Mobile doesn’t get that expensive). While Blackberry smartphones at an insane price can be bought from MTS and Beeline, in the near future they will also appear from Megaphone. Considering himself protected at the same time (though he doesn’t use voice calls and SMS, he uses only 3G and checks mail, which doesn’t come out that expensive with T-Mobile). While Blackberry smartphones at an insane price can be bought from MTS and Beeline, in the near future they will also appear from Megaphone. Considering himself protected at the same time (though he doesn’t use voice calls and SMS, he uses only 3G and checks mail, which doesn’t come out that expensive with T-Mobile). While Blackberry smartphones at an insane price can be bought from MTS and Beeline, in the near future they will also appear from Megaphone.

    This severely limits the capabilities of RIM in the Russian market, they have to rely solely on the activity of operators, hoping that they will make enough effort to sell their products. The brand has hands tied, they cannot enter the mass market, cannot flexibly adjust prices and respond quickly in communication with customers. And in this context, the company's first and so far only product without 3G is the Blackberry Playbook, and if the FSB allows RIM to sell it bypassing operators, this may be a chance for RIM. Then the tablet will be able to appear in Euroset, Svyaznoy, Eldorado, M-Video and other networks, and although it will seem uncompetitive against the background of 3G tablets, many of which will also be cheaper, it’s better anyway, than rely on operators.

    However, the FSB may well not give the Playbook a green corridor, it is the first and so far the only tablet certified for the US special services, so this loophole may well be closed.

    Despite the fact that at the same time almost the entire Nomobile.ru team will work in Berlin at the largest international technology exhibition IFA 2011, we are information sponsors of the event and will cover it on our website. That's what is written on the site about the RIM performance program, we will be able to ask questions to RIM representatives from habraly people, so you can ask here in the comments or in all my social networks.

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