Blackberry was a household name in mobile communications in the early 2000s. Thanks to its iconic physical physical QWERTY keyboard and secure email system, phones from the brand also became popular amongst business professionals. However, the arrival of touchscreen smartphones completely transformed the mobile landscape, starting the downfall of Blackberry’s dominance. So here’s a closer look at how touchscreen technology revolutionized the industry and ultimately killed Blackberry.

The Rise of Touchscreen Technology

Despite initial pushback against the removal of touchscreens, the iPhone helped lead the shift in industry standard. 2007 was a pivotal year as the first iPhone was released with a sleek design and intuitive all digital UI. The touchscreen enabled dynamic interactions, various gestures, and a flexible user interface that could adapt to numerous applications. In just a short amount of time, the touchscreen shifted consumer expectations away from physical keyboards to interactive screens.

Blackberry’s Struggle to Adapt

Blackberry played on its strengths that included its tactile QWERTY keyboards and focus on security. While it remained a staple for certain users, the company struggled to adapt to the shifting market. Blackberry stuck to the formula that worked well for them but smartphones were the future. While competitors were embracing full screen displays and developing robust app ecosystems, Blackberry continued to prioritize its traditional keyboard and enterprise-centric features. This slow change made it difficult for Blackberry to compete with the sleek, multifunctional devices that quickly captured market share.

Shifting Consumer Preferences

Over time, people began seeing all the positives for the touchscreen over physical keyboards. Touchscreens offered a platform for multi-touch gestures, app integrations, and customizable interfaces. Meanwhile, Blackberry’s offerings began to seem outdated and less engaging. The shift in user preferences towards media consumption, social networking, and gaming hastened Blackberry’s decline, as these activities were best experienced larger screened devices.

Impact on the Enterprise Market

Blackberry had a stronghold in the corporate world, where security and productivity were crucial. However, even businesses began to favor phones that could offer both security and a modern user experience. With companies eventually adopting platforms that used a wide range of apps and services, touchscreen smartphones became a necessity. Taking all of this into account, Blackberry’s inability to quickly adapt cost them the business side of its customers as well.

Conclusion

Touchscreen smartphones have changed the way we interact with technology. These have reshaped the mobile world and Blackberry, who was once a leader in mobile communications, was unable to make a swift evolution. As a result, the company had sealed its fate. The evolution of mobile technology reminds us that in the tech world, innovation is key to survival.

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I’m sure many of you remember BlackBerry, the legendary phone manufacturer of yesteryears. As one of the pioneers in the industry, the company was quite successful until the rise of smartphones. However, they failed to keep up with trends that came with touchscreens and eventually vanished from the market. However, if you miss Blackberry, it looks like there’s a new product that’s just your speed: the “Beepberry.” Here are the details…

Beepberry is a BlackBerry keyboard tinker toy from the founder of Pebble

Who could forget the BlackBerry and its fantastic keyboard? Although modern smartphones have achieved some success in this regard, the company seems to cater specifically to those born to write. Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble smartwatch and co-founder of Beeper, aware of this situation, has crafted an ingenious device that may just meet your needs. Beepberry, priced at $79, is a custom-made pocket computer featuring a genuine BlackBerry keyboard.

Although it’s primarily designed to run the Beeper messaging app, this remarkable gadget can be tweaked to perform almost any task you desire.The Beepberry is a pocket-sized computer that combines the Raspberry Pi Zero W with the keyboard of a BlackBerry Classic. It is designed to run the Beeper messaging app, but it can be used for a variety of other tasks. The Beepberry has a 2.7-inch screen, a backlit keyboard, a USB-C port, an RGB LED, a side button, a power switch, and General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) breakouts.

It is powered by a 2,000mAh battery. The Beepberry is available for $79. The Beepberry kit, which includes a preinstalled Pi Zero W, is available for $99. The Beepberry is a versatile device that is perfect for hackers, tinkerers, and anyone who wants a unique and portable computer. It is still under development, but it has a lot of potential.

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Once a legendary phone brand, BlackBerry has now faded into obscurity. Struggling to adapt to the rise of touchscreen phones, the company could not compete with Android and iOS, ultimately disappearing from the market. While there have been several attempts to revive the brand, they have all been unsuccessful. However, BlackBerry’s story is not forgotten and will soon be retold on the big screen for a new generation. Here are the details…

BlackBerry: A Cinematic Journey Through the Rise and Fall of a Tech Icon

Last August, the completion of a movie recounting the incredible journey of BlackBerry was announced. Based on the 2015 book “Losing the Signal,” this must-watch film for phone enthusiasts is set to grace theaters on May 12th. Recently, the trailer of the movie was released.

Starring Glenn Howerton of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Canadian actor Jay Baruchel as co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, “BlackBerry” takes viewers on a trip down memory lane. The film traces the company’s early days with its revolutionary two-way paging system, which evolved into a mobile email device indispensable for businesspeople. BlackBerry soon gained fame for its smartphones with physical keyboards.

But the tide turned when Steve Jobs unveiled the touchscreen iPhone at Macworld on January 9th, 2007. This pivotal event, featured in the movie’s trailer, marked the beginning of BlackBerry’s downturn. In response, the company launched the Storm in November 2008, a Verizon exclusive. Although the Storm generated considerable profits for Verizon, its numerous bugs resulted in every unit being returned by unhappy customers.

The company tried to bounce back with a Storm sequel, but by then, the Motorola DROID and Android had become the first real challengers to the iPhone. After years of setbacks, BlackBerry finally embraced Android, offering a comprehensive app storefront. The BlackBerry PRIV (short for privacy) marked the end of an era as the company’s final self-designed and produced device.

Later, BlackBerry licensed its name to Chinese phone maker TCL, which released the KEYOne and Key2. However, TCL let its license lapse, and when Onward Mobility, a little-known company with plans to create a 5G BlackBerry, withdrew, the BlackBerry phone’s fate was sealed.

The movie won’t cover BlackBerry’s entire history or its transformation into a cybersecurity firm. Instead, it will focus on BlackBerry’s ascent as a must-have business device, its early smartphone market success, the crushing impact of the touchscreen iPhone, and the company’s futile efforts to recover with the BlackBerry Storm.

For those who remember BlackBerry’s heyday or simply love smartphones, “BlackBerry” is the cinematic event of the year. Mark May 12th on your calendar and get ready to experience the compelling tale of a once-iconic brand in mobile technology.

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A Reddit post has detailed the rumored specs of the Unihertz Titan Slim and it seems it may be a look-alike of the Blackberry KEY2. The Unihertz Titan Slim will be the third iteration in the Titan lineup and comes with a physical QWERTY pad. The Titan Slim is also rumored to be available first via Kickstarter even without a crowdfunding campaign.

The Reddit thread adds to the speculation that was initiated by a recent cryptic tweeted image from Unihertz that pointed to the release of another Titan model. The image was covered with black ink but was explored to reveal a Blackberry KEY 2 look-alike. Titan is a phone designer that is carving a QWERTY-inspired niche for itself in its smartphones. The Unihertz Titan was launched in 2019 with a striking resemblance to the Blackberry Passport. It had a hybrid physical and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard. The smaller Titan Pocket was the next smartphone in the lineup and it got a mixed reception in the market.

It is speculated that Unihertz had used Kickstarter for its preorders as a marketing move. As per the specs, the device will have a 4.3-inch display and will be powered by a MediaTek chipset. A fingerprint scanner and probably 2D facial recognition sensor are present. The main camera is a 48MP shooter and the device will run on Android 11. The internal storage is about 256GB while the phone will have dual SIM functionality.

The Reddit thread detailing the rumored specs of the Unihertz Titan Slim is at best, speculative. Some of the details may not be authentic. No official confirmation has been received from Titan as to the specs of the Titan Slim at this time.

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At the start of this year, the smartphone market was abuzz as OnwardMobility announced that it would be working on launching a 5G enabled BlackBerry smartphone. However, just a few weeks after, it was reported that the company lost the rights to the latter’s name. Now, this unfortunate news has officially been confirmed.

As per an official announcement, the company stated that “We want to thank you all for the tremendous amount of support that you have given us since we first launched OnwardMobility. However, it is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra secure smartphone with a physical keyboard.” Simply put, the 5G BlackBerry phone project is officially dead.

The announcement arrives a mere six weeks after it first revealed its plans. So this arrives as unfortunate news for those looking forward to the promised BlackBerry experience. In our previous report, we had stated that BB has been working on distancing itself from its past. Meaning, there probably won’t be another BB phone for a long while, or maybe never at all. BlackBerry CEO John Chen had also changed his decision of having another OEM try and revive the brand by acquiring the license to its name. So this might really be the final nail to the coffin.

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Just last month, it was confirmed that a new BlackBerry 5G phone with a keyboard would launch this year. This was set to be the first BlackBerry smartphone in years, but now, it seems like this device is cancelled after OnwardMobility lost rights to the BlackBerry’s name.

Back in August 2020, it was revealed that OnwardMobility is the latest licensee for the BB brand for smartphones. While the BlackBerry 5G phone suffered from delays, OnwardMobility insisted that the device is on its way. But according to an AndroidPolice report, the 5G BB project is apparently dead. The news arrives from Kevin Michaluk, founder of CrackBerry, and other sources have revealed that OnwardMobility is not planning on working on the project any longer.

Reportedly, the company has cancelled the project despite acquiring the license to use the American phone maker’s name. Furthermore, even BlackBerry is looking to distance itself from its past identity as a smartphone vendor as it sold the rest of its mobile patents earlier this month for 600 million US Dollars. While we have not seen any leaks related to OnwardMobility’s 5G BlackBerry phone, it was believed to feature a design similar to the previously launched BB Priv, which was an Android slider phone.

For those unaware, the new 5G BB phone was planned to release in mid 2021, but faced delays due to issues with the supply chain followed by BlackBerry CEO John Chen changing his decision of having another OEM try and revive the brand on another smartphone. So, with OnwardMobility losing the license to its name, we might not see another BlackBerry phone for a long time.

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Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has sold its legacy patents covering mobile technologies to Catapult IP Innovations Inc. for $600 million. The company has disclosed that the sale consists of all its non-core patent assets.

According to a report by AppleInsider, this move from BlackBerry may spell trouble for other smartphone companies like Apple who may be subject to patent trolling in the future.

The concern arises as the Cupertino-based giant has been sued multiple times in the past for alleged BlackBerry patent infringements and the patents are now being sold to Catapult IP Innovations Inc. which could be considered a nonpracticing entity (NPE).

For those unaware, a patent troll is a derogatory term used to describe a business that utilizes patents and the court system to earn money. In other words, the company may use the patents it acquired from the deal with BlackBerry to demand royalties or outright sue other smartphone manufacturers for patent infringement.

BlackBerry will get $450 million dollars in cash, a promissory note for $150 million as well as the license for using the patents. In return, Catapult IP Innovations Inc. will acquire BlackBerry’s patents related to mobile devices, messaging, and wireless networking IPs. BlackBerry specifically says that the sale will not affect customers using its products or services.

The company says the deal will need to satisfy all regulatory conditions under the Hart–Scott–Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act in the United States and the Investment Canada Act, which could take up to 210 days.

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BlackBerry recently confirmed that it will be ending support for all its classic smartphones. It said that it will not be offering support for devices that run on BlackBerry 10 OS or later. In August 2020, Onward Mobility, the company that is licensed to launch BlackBerry-branded phones, revealed that it will be launching new and innovative BlackBerry 5G phones in 2021, but it did not come true. The American company released a new update to confirm that it will be launching a 5G-ready BlackBerry phone even though its arrival has been delayed.

When BlackBerry released an official confirmation that it will stop providing support for BlackBerry phones running BB10 OS, people assumed that the BlackBerry brand is dead. In a blog post, Onward Mobility said that the year 2021 was so challenging for the company that it could not launch a new phone.

It encountered various delays, which prevent it from launching the first BlackBerry phone with 5G support in 2021. It further said that it will release timely updates on the “ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone” starting from this month. It will come equipped with a keyboard for a better productivity experience. However, there is no information available on the moniker and specifications of the device.

BlackBerry phones that were launched under the TCL brand between 2016 and 2018 came with Android OS. To those who are unaware, the licensing agreement came to an end in 2020. It appears that the upcoming 5G BlackBerry phone may run on Android 12 OS. Hopefully, the company will release some interesting information about the much-awaited BlackBerry 5G phone later this month. It is expected to release in multiple markets like North America, Europe, and Asia. The company is said to be working with Foxconn’s FIH Mobile to develop the first BlackBerry phone with 5G support.

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BlackBerry, one of the most popular phone brands of the era before smartphones took over, has just made a new announcement. The company is finally ending its official support for all of its classic smartphone models.

The Canadian phone brand made the announcement earlier this week (Via 9To5Mac). So now, all of the company’s classic smartphones that run BlackBerry OS or BB10 OS will no longer be supported. Furthermore, the brand has even warned its customers that they will no longer receive any patches to ensure that the carrier or WiFi connection remains functional. In other words, BlackBerry smartphone users might lose calling, cellular data, SMS, and emergency service call functionality.

Although, the same does not apply to the company’s smartphone models that run the Android operating system right now, with official support for these models ending on 4th January 2022. For those unaware, the company was one of the largest brands in the market before the entry of iPhones and before Android smartphones took over the world.

Initially, veteran brands like Nokia and BlackBerry didn’t believe that a full touchscreen phone would ever have a great impact on the market. But as we can see now, devices with physical keyboards have more or less been phased out completely. So with the end of the official support for BB smartphones, we can say that this marks an end of an era. Notably, we advise that users of BB devices back up all of their data as well, and also possibly prepare to shift to another brand soon.

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Last year, it was announced that the American software company, Onward Mobility, is the latest licensee for the BlackBerry brand and it will launch the first 5G Blackberry smartphone this year. Ahead of the release of the phone, the company has launched a program to interact with fans of the BlackBerry brand as well as potential customers.

Called The Program, Onward Mobility describes it as “a pre-commitment program to expand its engagement with customers interested in purchasing the new and innovative BlackBerry 5G smartphones.”

Those who join The Program will receive information about the smartphones, features, and availability before the general public. The manufacturer also says that they will be able to provide input which will influence the features and functions of the phone. Lastly, they will be able to pre-order the device earlier than others as well as be among the first to receive the device when it launches.

This move by Onward Mobility is not the first of its kind in the mobile industry. A number of manufacturers such as OnePlus have programs that allow fans provide input about features they want in a phone. Some lucky members also get to experience and even use a device before it launches.

The first BlackBerry phone from the American company will retain the classic BlackBerry design which is a physical QWERTY keyboard. It will also have a flagship camera. Onward Mobility has said that the phone is being developed in partnership with FIH Mobile but it plans to have future phones assembled in the USA.

You can sign up to be a part of The Program here.

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Last year, a new BlackBerry licensee called OnwardMobility announced that it will release new BlackBerry phones this year that will have 5G support. A new report says the American company has plans to bring the new BlackBerry phones to the Asian market too.

The press release from OnwardMobility last year said that their first BlackBerry phone will be announced in Europe and North America. Asian fans of the brand must have been saddened seeing as they were left out. However, that is not the case as Nikkei Asia reports that the new BlackBerry phones from the company will also be announced in Asia.

Peter Franklin who heads OnwardMobility is reported to have said that Asia is also a very important market. The manufacturer doesn’t have a defined timeframe for when the phones will launch in Asia but the CEO said they are in the “process of speaking to customers and mobile carriers on a global scale to develop our distribution plan”.

The first BlackBerry phone from the company will have a physical keyboard, a flagship camera, and 5G connectivity, and it is being jointly developed with Foxconn’s FIH Mobile. Franklin has said that their long term goal is to have their phones assembled in the USA.

He believes that there is still a market for BlackBerry phones and that their smartphones which will have a physical keyboard “can help boost productivity”. It appears the company has no intention of making a touchscreen-only model like the Optiemus-made BlackBerry Evolve and BlackBerry Evolve X or the TCL-made BlackBerry Motion.

The much-loved form factor is not the only thing the company is bringing. The phones will also provide protection against data leaks and online threats. OnwardMobility says they will partner with an external cybersecurity company for this.

The smartphone market is a highly competitive one. OnwardMobility will have to offer products that can compete with phones from Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, and OnePlus. It does have the advantage as none of these other players make phones with a physical keyboard but it remains to be seen if that and the better security it promises will be able to woo customers.

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While BlackBerry is no longer a major player in the mobile market, it is continuing to expand its presence in the automobile market. The company will be powering the mapping technology of Baidu, the Chinese counterpart and rival of Google, that will power future electric vehicles in China.

According to a CNET report, Baidu’s high definition mapping technology for automobiles will run on BlackBerry’s QNX Neutrino real time operating system. This technology will be used by Guangzhou Automobile Group and future electric vehicles from the Chinese company, which will feature the BlackBerry/Baidu technology. This marks another step for BlackBerry in its efforts to grow in China, arriving after it closed a deal with Baidu to provide its software to the company’s Apollo self driving car program as well.

At the moment, the software from BlackBerry only acts as a supporting system towards driver assisting technology. However, the company aims on launching a fully automated driving system sometime in the future. Furthermore, the company stated that its software technology is already used in over 175 million cars across the globe that feature active safety or driver assist capabilities.

Unfortunately, this is all the information available regarding the matter. We have yet to see if this partnership with Baidu involves other undertakings and new deals also forming for BlackBerry. Notably, Baidu is also working on building its own cars through a partnership with Geely as well. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Earlier this year, TCL and BlackBerry Mobile announced that the latter will no longer design, manufacture, and sell BlackBerry-branded mobile devices anymore. There has not been a new BlackBerry phone in almost two years but that will change next year.

Apparently, there is a new BlackBerry licensee called OnwardMobility and they have announced they will launch the first BlackBerry 5G mobile phone next year. OnwardMobility is a security solutions company that is headed by Peter Franklin.

According to a video released by the CEO, the company has gone into an agreement with FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group, to launch a new 5G BlackBerry smartphone that will be powered by Android.

This image above from OnwardMobility’s website says new BlackBerry 5G smartphones are coming in 2021. This means there will be more than one device next year.

The company executive has also given us a heads-up with respect to the design of the first phone. In the video, he revealed that the new phone will have a physical keyboard. So we expect it to have a form factor similar to the BlackBerry KEY2.

With respect to specs, there are no details yet other than it having support for 5G. However, we presume it will not be a flagship phone.

OnwardMobility is promising a feature-rich Android smartphone that delivers on security and productivity which are the main strengths of BlackBerry smartphones. Information on the manufacturer’s website says that the phone will launch in the first half of 2021 in North America and Europe.

It definitely is good news to know that BlackBerry Mobile is not dead. We also hope OnwardMobility will have more success with the brand.

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