From the Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News (link)
The BlackBerry e-mail device is coming to China in the next few months. By then, thousands of Chinese may already be checking their e-mail on the new “Redberry.”
The Redberry is not a new version of the BlackBerry that’s been designed by Research in Motion Ltd. for the Chinese market. It’s the name being used by two unaffiliated Chinese companies selling a BlackBerry-like service on a non-BlackBerry mobile device.
And it’s yet another example of how the Chinese market is still more like the Wild West than Western-style capitalism, regardless of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s efforts to paint a more progressive economic picture during last week’s visit to the United States.
The ploy of exploiting BlackBerry’s brand recognition is all the more bizarre – RIM’s chief executive called it “weird” in an interview – because of the two companies involved. One, not so surprisingly, is a pugnacious start-up. But the other is China Unicom Ltd., whose majority owner is none other than the Chinese government.
