Nick Horton, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa at BlackBerry, talks about the smartphone manufacturer’s recent fortunes.
This is the biggest BlackBerry to date, why five inches?
The BlackBerry Z30 has a 5” Super Amoled display that makes whatever you’re running larger, clearer and more vivid. It has been designed for ambitious, hyper-connected users.
The larger screen size is already a crowded market segment, how is BlackBerry planning to succeed?
By introducing a 5” display with this device, we are bringing to market many benefits which we believe will differentiate us from our competitors. For example, the 5” display lets you see more messages at a glance, your browsing experience is more immersive and pictures are crisper.
The company is struggling, with job cuts planned. How will this affect BlackBerry in the Middle East?
We are in the second phase of our transformation plan. Organisational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are ranked among the top markets for smartphone subscriptions. We will continue to work with our partners in the Middle East to deliver BlackBerry 10 to our target markets. With smartphone penetration in the Middle East among the highest in the world, it is expected that growth will be faster than the Emea average over the next five years.
thamid@thenational.ae
