Initial reports from a CIBC analyst indicate that over 50% of BlackBerry Z10 preorders in Canada are coming from “non-BlackBerry users,” presumably Android and iPhone. While it’s difficult to gauge whether this figure is accurate, it points to a groundswell of enthusiasm for the new device, buoyed by the BlackBerry brand, which has taken less of a hit in Canada than it has in the rest of the world.
It’s also interesting to note that BlackBerry hasn’t suffered the same market share loss in Canada that it has in the United States. Last June, estimates put BlackBerry comfortably in third place behind iOS and Android, but it still enjoyed 27% of total smartphone users — a far cry from its 6% share in the States. BlackBerry stands to regain some of its consumer and business market share with the Z10 and if 50% of preorders are from people defecting from other platform camps, even better.
Mainstream consumer success will be key to regenerating BlackBerry’s growth in the Canadian market as it’s widely understood it will do quite well in the enterprise space. With a vastly improved user experience and immeasurably better app selection than its predecessor, BlackBerry 10 is shaping up to be quite a challenger to the incumbents.
Source: BGR
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