South Africa's youth has once again named BlackBerry as the 'Coolest Brand Overall' in the Sunday Times Generation Next 2012 Brand Survey Awards.

The BlackBerry brand also topped the 'Coolest Cellphone' and 'Coolest High Tech Gadget' categories for the second year running.

The results of the eighth annual Generation Next Brand Survey Awards were announced at an event at Montecasino, Johannesburg last night. The popularity of the BlackBerry brand in South Africa’s youth market is a reflection of how BlackBerry products and services address the needs of tech savvy young people who lead increasingly connected lives.

Says Lanie Visser, Marketing Director for South Africa at Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry solution, "These awards reflect how the BlackBerry smartphone has become an indispensable social tool and lifestyle device for active, connected young South Africans and we would like to thank our young BlackBerry customers for their continued loyalty."

BlackBerry devices have become part of the lives of South African young people, largely because they are available on one of the country's most affordable connectivity packages on the BlackBerry® Internet Service. Popular apps such as BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), which is included in the BlackBerry Internet Service fee, have also helped to cement BlackBerry's popularity with young people. BBM allows users to easily share updates, images, information and opinions with friends and family in real time. It's affordable, real time and fun to use.

BBM is one of the largest social mobile networks in the world. There are approximately 56 million active BBM users worldwide and 70% of them use it daily to communicate with friends, family and colleagues.