BlackBerry Z10 language problems | Bangkok Post: tech

BlackBerry confirmed on Friday it will not sell its new smartphones in Japan because the operating system cannot yet adapt to the Japanese language.

The company refused to comment on sales in other countries which do not use the English alphabet, lumping Thailand and other such countries as a "non-critical market" for the Canadian phone trying to reinvent itself.

The "BB" was the dominant smartphone in Thailand even three years ago. Apple and Android dominate today's market.

The BlackBerry Z10, the first BB without a keyboard, is reportedly selling well in North America.

A BlackBerry spokeswoman said Friday morning that the company is indeed pulling out of the Japanese market - at least for the time being.

"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," spokeswoman Amy McDowell said.

"Japan is not a major market for BlackBerry, and we have no plans to launch BlackBerry 10 devices there at this time," she said. "However, we will continue to support BlackBerry customers in Japan."

She declined to comment on its plans for other non-critical markets including Thailand

As in Thailand, BlackBerry's market share in Japan has suffered a decline so precipitous that it no longer even ranks by name on comScore's survey of the top smartphone platforms in country.

As of June 2012, BlackBerry was lumped into the research firm's "Other" category which itself claims only a 0.4 per cent share of the 24 million smartphones used in Japan.

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