RIM steps up mobile competition

“We are committed to providing the best experience to BlackBerry customers in Vietnam,” said Nicholas Horton, RIM Indochina director.

Horton said Blackberry was expanding its retail channel to make BlackBerry smartphones more accessible to customers.

Hence, it planned to launch more affordable products and service plans to meet the needs of our customers.

In addition, it is adding more BlackBerry Expert Center locations so that customers who purchase their devices from authorised retailers can enjoy after-sales service from trained professionals at their convenience.

Smartcom, a subsidiary of Petrosetco Distribution, a member of PetroVietnam is the second distributor of Blackberry in Vietnam apart from Brightstar.
 
Before becoming an official distributor of Blackberry in Vietnam, Petrosetco had also been a distributor of Nokia Vietnam.

Currently, Petrosetco with its core business as electronic and telecommunication equipment distribution has mobile phones distribution contracts for Sony Ericsson, LG phones and Nokia.

Also, established in 2007, Petrosetco has rapidly emerged as a leading distributor of well-known technology brands including HP, Dell, Acer, eMachines, Fujitsu and Lenovo.

During the past five years, Petrosetco has developed its agents from 288 in 2007 to 1,600 in 2012 and eleven branches nationwide.
Thanks to the rapid growth in terms of revenue and profit, Petrosetco was recognised among the 500 largest companies in Vietnam.

Last week, Blackberry announced the launch of most affordable BlackBerry  smartphones for customers in Vietnam including the BlackBerry Curve 9320 and the BlackBerry Curve 9220.

According to IDC’s Asia, the Vietnam mobile phone market experienced a sequential decline of 18 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 but still registered double-digit growth of 10.9 per cent year-on-year.

This freefall can be summarily attributed to the pause in consumer purchasing in light of inflation and recession, which have hindered disposable income in Vietnam. Nokia and Samsung are top two famous mobile phone brands in Vietnam.