BlackBerry’s Most Loyal Patron is Not Your Average Consumer

Reuters have described Obama as a “very loyal” BlackBerry customer. Yet, what evidences are there to prove this, you ask? For starters, “I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” said Obama to a group of young people at the White House for an event promoting his health care law. He would rather have a bulky BlackBerry device than to live with the suspicions of someone spying at him. Speculations for this matter grew due to the possibility that Apple was one of the several Silicon Valley tech giants that allowed the NSA to pull up consumer data directly from their servers, even though the company continually denies the accusation. In addition, Obama even made a joke once that if the Secret Service wanted to take his BlackBerry phone from him, they’d have to pry from his hands.

It’s a fact that Obama is a more tech savvy individual compared to his predecessors, although he wasn’t born close to the advent of the Internet. When Obama first took office in 2009, he was viewed as a cool, hip person who can relate to the digital lifestyle of the average American due to his BlackBerry phone. But after 5 years under the scrutiny to the public eye, people have shifted their view of his techie persona from the said to something outdated and ridiculous. He isn’t the cool person anymore that many have thought of him.

Obama’s choice to hang on to BlackBerry might just seem an insignificant detail, but him possessing an iPhone can advertently change how the masses view him as a person and a leader in all aspects. If he is open to embrace the new, which in this case is an iPhone, he will be perceived as someone who can approach and resolve problems with a degree of innovation and open-mindedness.

Going back to the event that started this, the president was actually persuading the young people to look into the new Affordable Care Act (ACA). He said, “The idea that you wouldn’t want to make sure you’ve got the health security and financial security that comes with health insurance for less than that price, you guys are smarter than that. Most young people are as well.” He stressed out that majority of young people nowadays spend over $100 per month collectively on Internet service plans from wireless carriers, and roughly the same cost can already secure them of a health insurance coverage, which is essentially a smarter choice.

We all know that BlackBerry is still in its struggling position, but be that as it may, knowing that it has Obama—the most powerful man in the world—as its loyal customer, that kind of repute can’t be replaced by significant market shares. You might want to look into more reasons as to why Obama has held on to the Canadian-manufactured smartphone, and maybe you too would be thinking twice of getting a BlackBerry device instead of the excessively popular iPhone.