Who is buying Blackberry?

The UK regulator, Ofcom, released its annual communications markets report yesterday and it is an interesting read [pdf, 4MB].

There is a wealth of information to be found there – not unlike the CRTC’s report. One table in particular caught my eye, especially in view of the attention being paid to Blackberry.

Apple’s iPhone is the most popular brand of smartphone, with a 32% share among adults. This is the brand of choice among ABC1s (37%) and is even higher among ABs alone (44%). But BlackBerry handsets have also taken a significant share of the market (24%) and are particularly popular among younger adults and teens (37% each). Female teens, in particular, appear to have a preference for BlackBerry handsets (44%). Anecdotal evidence suggests that this preference is driven by the BlackBerry messenger service (BBM) which offers a free alternative to texting (SMS). [click here for description of ABC1, AB, etc.]

What is driving UK teens to Blackberry? Would we not have expected this to be an iPhone or Android group? Is the UK market an outlier or is this phenomenon taking place in other geographies? Is it the Blackberry physical keyboard or BBM that is driving its success?

1 thought on “Who is buying Blackberry?”

  1. I saw this as well, my two daughters use Blackberries and most of their friends do as well. It could be that our youth are maybe a little smarter than others and less likely to buy an Apple product just because its Apple. What seems to drive Apple sales is brand, there was a recent study that showed people would buy an Apple product just because it was from Apple. Much of their technology is based upon making media media and the web easier for adults, the young do not have that same problem, they want fast communication, that’s what a Blackberry delivers.

    Can you tell I am not an Apple fan? I carry a Bold 9700 and a Playbook, iMac at HOME.

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