[June 18, 2013] BlackBerry Thai chief exits Tweet Jun 19, 2013 (Bangkok Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BlackBerry Thailand, the smartphone maker based in Canada, admits it is facing a leadership vacuum amid intensifying local competition. The operating unit of Research in Motion (RIM) is enduring a management change after country director Benoit Nalin resigned in the past two weeks. An industry source said Ben Quirin is tipped to take the post next month. He will oversee the Thailand and Indochinese markets. BlackBerry is preparing to roll out two new smartphone models early next month in a bid to retain its existing customer base. Both models, equipped with the BlackBerry 10 operating system and qwerty keyboard, are aimed at competing directly with Google's Android and Apple's iOS. BlackBerry is working with mobile operator Total Access Communication to promote its new BlackBerry Z10 model, slashing the handset price to 15,900 baht from 20,900 baht for the first 30 customers ordering the phone from DTAC's online store. Meanwhile, Samsung and Nokia have also lowered handset prices, cutting the Galaxy Note II to 17,900 baht and the Lumia 920 to 18,900 baht. An industry source said BlackBerry is in a tough position to compete with Samsung and Apple, especially against the high-end models. Samsung enjoys a strong foothold in the local market due to aggressive promotion and close cooperation with major mobile operators. Moreover, the popularity of third-party messaging apps, especially LINE, has hit BlackBerry's BBM chat system. ___ (c)2013 the Bangkok Post (Bangkok, Thailand) Visit the Bangkok Post (Bangkok, Thailand) at www.bangkokpost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]