By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) hopes to consolidate its position in Qatar’s smartphone market with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 Operating System and handsets in a few days.  
“It is a brand new mobile operating system built from scratch. We have built the new platform based on customer preferences,” points out Ahmad Olaywan, BlackBerry country manager (Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain).
Many carriers worldwide have been testing the new platform, he said.
Media reports said the BlackBerry 10 platform’s features that were shown at a major global event included a platform-wide flow interface, a new intelligent keyboard, as well as a camera app, which allows the user to adjust a portrait by moving through time scale to optimise picture quality.
BlackBerry 10 devices will be offered in an all-touchscreen version as well as in a model that keeps a physical keyboard.
Olaywan said Qatar remained one of the “key markets” for BlackBerry with a “good growth rate”.
He, however, said BlackBerry could not give exact details on its Qatar customer base as the company “does not split figures by country”.
He said the popularity of the BlackBerry service in Qatar was due to the support of the operators – Qtel and Vodafone and also because of the “low tariff” charged on the service.
“Perhaps, we have one of the lowest tariffs in the region with these two operators,” Olaywan said.
He said about 98% of BlackBerry customers in Qatar used BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), which is a proprietary Internet-based instant messenger application included on BlackBerry devices that allows messaging between BlackBerry users.
Messages sent through BlackBerry Messenger are sent over the Internet and use the BlackBerry PIN system with the result that communication is only possible between BlackBerry devices.
“In Qatar, we have the highest BBM penetration in the world,” the RIM executive said.
On BlackBerry service in the Middle East, he said the region provided growth for the Canada-based handset maker and service provider despite “intense competition”.
“We have had a 119% growth in the Middle East region in 2012 compared to 2011,” Olaywan said without giving details.
“We are excited to offer the BlackBerry 10 Operating System and handsets in Qatar and confident our customers will appreciate these,” Olaywan said. Page 33