RIM comes to town ahead of BB10 launch

Blackberry smartphone makers, Research In Motion, RIM, has finally berthed in Nigeria to face business squarely. Although the device maker said it was merely to expand its presence in Nigeria, but further probe on officials revealed that the BB phone maker was angling on using the robust Nigerian mobile market to shore up its global market shares which has been on a free fall for some time.
However, RIM continues to wax strong in many African and Latin American markets, positioning first in South Africa, second in Nigeria and first in Latin America Meanwhile, while expectations were that the company may still lose more market shares, RIM has surprisingly shocked critics posting an impressive 80 million subscriber mark for its BlackBerry services—a significant leap from the approximately 78 million announced in its last results.
This was announced Tuesday by its CEO, Thorsten Heins at an event.
The announcement also coincided with the company’s first official BlackBerry-branded retail store which was flagged off in Lagos same Tuesday. The move marks the expansion of RIM’s footprint in Africa from its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and apparently underlines the company’s commitment to its partners and customers in one of the world’s fastest growing mobile markets,
RIM, is in association with mobile phone distributor Slot Nigeria, on the project, apparently describing while the new office is located in SLOT stores at Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.
The stores are designed especially to provide Nigerian customers with a first-class, authentic BlackBerry purchasing experience, including free software upgrades from the facility.
BB users can now easily get their devices upgraded at the store. BlackBerry smartphones that can be upgraded to OS 7.1 include the BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Torch  9860, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and the BlackBerry Curve 9380.
In the BlackBerry by SLOT store, customers can find: A full-range of live BlackBerry smartphones to try free device set-up and free software upgrade facilities; fully-trained staff who provide expert advise and assistance; a BlackBerry Expert Center that offers leading after-sales service to all products.