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Cape Town - BlackBerry’s new Android-powered smartphone goes on sale in South Africa with a price point targeted at competing with other premium devices.
On Monday, the Canadian-based company announced the availability of its anticipated smartphones which is compatible with Android applications.
“Today, Priv is available in South Africa. You can pick it up on ShopBlackBerry, MTN, Vodacom, or Cell C,” BlackBerry said in a statement.
On Vodacom, the Priv contract starts at R749 per month that includes 200MB of data. MTN offers the device for R519 on a My MTNChoice 100 contract.
The Orange Store sells the 32GB Priv for R14 312.
Vodacom warns, though, that there is no current stock of the device and customers should expect delays.
Uphill battle
READ: BlackBerry 'still hot', say Fin24 users
For comparison, the Sony Xperia Z5 sells for R529 per month on a Vodacom contract and the Samsung Galaxy S6 sells for R429 per month from MTN.
The Priv has both a 13.7cm (5.4 inch) touch screen and physical keyboard. BlackBerry has ensured that the device can compete with rivals by loading it with a 64 bit Qualcomm 8992 Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor.
But the company which once ruled the smartphone market faces an uphill battle.
BlackBerry’s share of the global smartphone operating system market has decreased from 4.9% in 2012 to 0.3% in 2015, according to the International Data Corporation.
However, in SA, consumers have demonstrated loyalty to the brand.
According data from the South African Customer Satisfaction Index, BlackBerry scored a respectable 70.6 out of a maximum 100, trailing Apple (82.7), Nokia (78.9) and Samsung (78.8).
Has BlackBerry done enough to convince you to buy the Priv? Let us know
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