Blackberry Still Rules Smartphone Market

BlackBerry remains the overwhelming choice in both 100-499 and 500+ employees segments. Samsung is the second in both segments, but Apple seems to be out of favour among corporates.

There are some surprises, sure as we expected, in this new category. BlackBerry might be going through tough times globally, but it still is the most preferred among the IT decision-makers in India. The brand emerged as the winner of the Users' Choice Award in both the 100-499 and 500-999 employees segments this year, followed by Samsung at number two.

Apple, despite all the aura that surrounds it, doesn't seem to be gelling very well with corporate users, and that's reflected by its joint number three position shared with Nokia in the 100-499 club. HTC is the other brand that made it to the club this year in this category.

The users of BlackBerry rated it 4.4 out of 5 on the satisfaction scale, with Samsung and Apple at 4.3, and Nokia and HTC at 4.2. In the 500+ employee segment, Samsung smartphone users were the most satisfied with the brand, with an average rating of 4.2 out of 5. BlackBerry, Apple, and HTC users gave a mean score of 4.1, while Nokia users gave the lowest rating of 4.0 for the brand.

About 52% of Samsung users in the 100-499 segment derived their satisfaction out of the brand name and 34.5% of them were happy with the quality of service and products. Apple got the best rating - 13.3% - for its after-sales support and service.

Also, Apple enjoys a great brand value in the 500+ segment. Of those who currently own Apple smartphones, 53% gave brand name as the reason, while 35% said they owned it for its product quality. Only 12% said it's real good value for money, and interestingly, none of the owners gave after sales service and support as the reason. Nokia followed a similar trend, with 44% preferring it for its brand name. Nearly 41% of users who said they're likely to buy a Samsung smartphone gave brand name as the reason.