BlackBerry Z3 is South Africa’s most appealing phone, according to Phonefinder

Yes, yes, we know. We aren’t too kind to BlackBerry over in these here parts.

The company has been the mainstay in South Africa’s mobile phone race since we came to know the beauty of BBM and the wonder of BIS. Come 2015, and miraculously, even if BlackBerry is on the back burner in other corners of the globe, it’s still going strong here in South Africa.

That’s right. According to Phonefinder — a mobile phone marketplace tool — and a new report revealed by Fin24, the BlackBerry Z3 is South Africa’s most popular phone. Coming in second is the Samsung Galaxy S5 and only then we find the iPhone 6 which has sold like ice cream in the summertime across the world. The results source from over 100 000 users ploughing through the sites listings.

But why BlackBerry?

It seems that even though there are smarter, more balanced options out there South African’s just can’t get over their love for the Waterloo brand. Although BBM has largely been overtaken by the likes of Facebook’s Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat, the company seems to be held in high regard, perhaps thanks to its legacy.

Contract price has a lot to do with it too, with Phonefinder suggesting that the Z3’s price range falls more or less perfectly into the top contract price range of R239/month.

The BlackBerry Z3 isn’t the worst phone on the planet either, with a Snapdragon 400 SoC with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It also boasts one of the most workflow optimised OSes we’ve ever used — BlackBerry OS 10.3.1.

It does seem that price is only one reason though. The BlackBerry 9720 is up there in fourth, incredibly, beating out the likes of the iPhone 5s. And in terms of the new Samsung versus Apple flagship war, it seems that the Korean company is winning that battle too.

“The Galaxy S 6 Flat competes head to head with the iPhone 6, however, Samsung’s device comes out on top each time. The same is true for both manufacturers’ alternative devices of the same range,” Phonefinder noted in an interview with Fin24’s Duncan Alfreds.

Feature image: KellarW via Flickr