BlackBerry to launch pay-as-you-go deal with Orange

Although the "Crackberry" as it has been dubbed for its addictive qualities has been popular with business executives and new US President Barack Obama, it has struggled to widen its appeal to a younger demographic.

Now the partnership with Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian company behind the handset, have announced the partnership with Orange, in an attempt to divert younger consumers away from the more popular iPhone.

Pay-as-you-go customers currently make up two-thirds of the market, a market dominated by 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK.

With Orange, BlackBerry hopes attract this demographic with access to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Previously, BlackBerries had only been available on a monthly contract, but customers will now have the option of paying £145 for the handset, before topping it up with credit. They will also pay £5-a-month for internet services, available on a 30-day rolling contract.

Ian Fogg, principal analyst from Forrester, a technology and market research company, said: "RIM sees it as an opportunity to take the expertise built up in the business space and widen it out. They are clearly aiming at younger users, who can now get the right tool at the right price."

Michael Brook, editor of consumer technology magazine T3, said: "Accessing social networking sites will drive the move to the BlackBerry. It is a great internet tool, which is where many other phones – iPhone excepted – fall down."

BlackBerry has reportedly had problems with Orange already - earlier this month the mobile phone operator was reportedly considering withdrawing the BlackBerry Bold smartphone because of ongoing technical problems.

RIM also suffered problems with its flagship Storm handset, offered in Britain exclusively on Vodafone, which met with mixed reviews.