According to a statement released by BlackBerry, their recently launched model Z10 will not be entering the Japanese market.
BlackBerry's latest Z10 is already available for purchase in Canada and the company has promised a March release in the U.S. However, a new report from the company was released bearing bad news for Japanese customers. Officials announced that their new model will not be entering Japan. Hence customers in the country will not be able to purchase the new BlackBerry smart phone.
"We are in the process of launching BlackBerry 10 globally in key markets and we are seeing positive demand for the BlackBerry Z10 in countries where it has already launched. Japan is not a major market for BlackBerry and we have no plans to launch BlackBerry 10 devices there at this time. However, we will continue to support BlackBerry customers in Japan," a spokesman of the company said in an official statement.
One of the reasons cited for this decision was the fact that BlackBerry's share in the country's market has dropped from 5 percent in the past to less than 0.3 percent currently. The timeframe for this dip was not revealed. Hence, officials stated that it would not be cost effective if the company had to develop a Japanese language version of the new operating system.
Research in Motion announced late last month that the brand will now be known as BlackBerry.
"BlackBerry is how we're known pretty much everywhere across the world other than North America, so we have an iconic global brand and when you have such a powerful brand, you want to make it central," said Frank Boulben, BlackBerry's chief marketing officer, in an interview.
