SmarTrend(R) News Watch: Research In Motion Sees Exponential Growth In Indonesia

According to a Barclays equity research note, Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) popular BlackBerry is experiencing "growing pains" in Indonesia, the fourth most heavily populated nation with 240 million people. With most of its citizens lacking home internet service, the handset serves as their sole connection to the web. The BlackBerry has been available in Indonesia since 2004, offered by Indosat, Telkomsel and Excelcomindo Pratama. However, last summer these carriers began offering the device on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, sparking a surge in BlackBerry sales during the second half of 2008 despite the recession. Furthermore, according to figures from Cahyadi, the arrival of BlackBerry's rival the iPhone (NASDAQ:AAPL) hasn't dented the handset's control of the market, as it retails for almost twice the amount. Guntur Siboro, Indosat's marketing director estimated that there were 30,000 BlackBerry subscribers in Indonesia before the prepaid plan was launched, now there are more than 300,000, and he anticipates that figure surpassing 1 million by year end.

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Related terms: equity, indonesia, market, marketing, nasdaq, note, research, sales