In just a few years, Waterloo, Ont.–based BlackBerry has gone from global leader in smartphones to a crippled company with marginal market share. We asked Canadians how it affects them, and whether they think private ownership can help turn the company around.
In a random sampling of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1155 Canadians 18 years of age and older who had heard of Blackberry Ltd, fully three quarters agree the survival of Blackberry is important to the Canadian economy (75%) and as many as one half agree strongly (50%). Strong agreement is characteristic of older respondents (55 to 64 – 57%, 65+ – 56%), those in lower ($20K to $40K – 58%) and middle-income groups ($60K to $80K – 59%), in Ontario (54%) and among Blackberry owners (64%).
Close to three quarters of Canadians agree a new owner (Fairfax Financial is mentioned) can turn Blackberry around (70%), and close to one half agree strongly (44%).
Close to 6-in-10 Canadians have smartphones (57%), especially the youngest (75%), the wealthiest ($100K to $250K – 80%) but not Quebeckers (48%). Among smartphone owners, the most common type is Apple’s iOS (37%), followed by Google’s Android (26%), then Blackberry (18%). Very few use a Windows smartphone (4%).
Close to 6-in-10 Blackberry users are concerned about service and support for their phones if Blackberry is sold (57%) and one third are “very concerned” (35%).
