froAfrica's youth has once again named BlackBerry® as the 'Coolest Brand
Overall' in the Sunday Times Generation Next 2012 Brand Survey Awards.
The BlackBerry brand also topped the 'Coolest Cellphone' and 'Coolest High-Tech Gadget' categories for the second year running.
The results of the eighth annual Generation Next
Brand Survey Awards were announced at an event at Montecasino,
Johannesburg last night. The popularity of the BlackBerry brand in South
Africa’s youth market is a reflection of how BlackBerry products and
services address the needs of tech-savvy young people who lead
increasingly connected lives.
Says Lanie Visser, Marketing Director for South
Africa at Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry®
solution: "We are delighted that South Africa's youth has chosen
BlackBerry as their smartphone of choice and as South Africa's coolest
youth brand for the second time. These awards reflect how the BlackBerry
smartphone has become an indispensable social tool and lifestyle device
for active, connected young South Africans and we would like to thank
our young BlackBerry customers for their continued loyalty."
“BlackBerry smartphones are designed to look
cool and stylish, yet are packed with excellent features such as social
networking and instant messaging”, she adds. “The brand also offers a
choice of smartphone models, ranging from full-featured entry level
devices right through to premium smartphones, giving users a wide range
of choices suitable to their lifestyles and budgets.”
BlackBerry devices have become part of the lives
of South African young people, largely because they are available on
one of the country's most affordable connectivity packages on the
BlackBerry® Internet Service. Popular apps such as BBM™ (BlackBerry®
Messenger), which is included in the BlackBerry Internet Service fee,
have also helped to cement BlackBerry's popularity with young people.
BBM allows users to easily share updates, images, information and
opinions with friends and family in real-time. It's affordable,
real-time and fun to use.
BBM is one of the largest social mobile networks
in the world. There are approximately 56 million active BBM users
worldwide and 70% of them use it daily to communicate with friends,
family and colleagues.