The Blackberry

My brother just got a Blackberry Smartphone today, something he seems exceptionally proud about. In Jakarta, the most commonly used phone here is the Blackberry, similar to how the Iphone is the most commonly used phone in Singapore. In fact, Indonesia is no doubt the biggest consumer of the Blackberry or, more commonly known in Indonesia, the BB. My brother, feeling left out, threw away all dignity he had and decided to beg my mother for it. He promised to do his homework diligently and without complain, something he has said to do many times before but failed to do. He has done this for his Ipod as well. My mother, with all due respect, is slightly gullible and has decided once again to comply to his wishes, something I find completely ridiculous.


The Blackberry, as far as I know, is not a very famous or well known phone. This made me wonder; how did the Blackberry become so famous in Indonesia?


Unfortunately, the answer to this remains unknown. According to my dad, corrupt businessmen in Indonesia started using it when they found out that the messages could not be traced. Businessmen started using this until it became a big trend in Indonesia, with no sign of ever slowing down.


However, I disagree with my dad as almost all text sent and received via the internet can be received. So the text messages can be traced. However, it could be a possibility that that it is harder to trace such messages and, because the education in Indonesia is low, it might be close to impossible for Indonesians to trace it. I cannot justify my theory. It is, as stated, a theory and impossible, for me, a person of relatively low status to find the right information to be able to ever prove such a point.


The mystery of this trend alludes me. However, it will not last for very long. The market for the Blackberry at the moment is failing. In this year the revenue for the company has fell by 10% compared to the past year, at 4.2 billion. It's profit has dropped to 329 million, a decrease of more than half.


In at least 10 years, I suspect that the Blackberry will fail as a company's revenue continues to decrease. It will only be then that the trend will finally come to a halt.


Caption: This is the new Blackberry that my brother got, the Bold Onyx 2.