Research In Motion, the manufacturer of BlackBerry devices, is rolling out a global strategy to harness the potential of data applications believing that such services will further growth.
Another step towards the strategy is RIM's latest offering, BlackBerry Pearl, which will be launched this week in the Indian market.
The launch is of significant importance as it makes India the first country in the Asia Pacific region and one of the few countries in the world after USA and Canada to use the handset.
"We are thinking beyond e-mail and believe the next wave of growth will be from data-enabled services. We are also looking at wireless data applications and solutions to further growth as revenues from voice is comparatively on the lower side," RIM vice president (Asia Pacific) Norm Lo told Business Standard in Mumbai n Sunday.
RIM is formulating a new strategy for its data venture, 'Beyond e-mail'.
The company would bank on Web browsing, Instant Messaging and J2EE applications (for e-commerce) to rope in enterprising customers.
The company would also use its BlackBerry platform to drive data solutions and applications, especially on handheld devices, targeted at field sales force. It would also focus on voice recognition software and voice mails to drive mobile phone growth across the world.
BlackBerry handsets were a runaway success, selling about 6.29 million pieces world-wide.
This month, RIM expects to add another eight lakh users.
According to global analyst firm Gartner, RIM is the top PDA vendor in the world with 25.5 per cent market share.
RIM has already tied-up with Airtel for bundling of the handsets with services. The company also wants to increase its revenues from the handheld device market (excluding cellphones) in India.
"India is a compelling market with a booming economy and a very high potential for mobile services. The country has become one of the best markets for launching products and more MNCs would be interested in launching their products in the country," he said.
