How Did BlackBerry Suddenly Disappear from Our Lives?

These phones were heroes of old times! Once upon a time, when you said “sending an email”, people just thought BlackBerry was coming to life. These phones, which had technology far ahead of their time, were also number one in terms of security.

Especially thanks to the unusual keyboard design, the taste you felt when pressing the keys was almost an aroma of nostalgia. But over time, smartphones came along and BlackBerry, “Farewell, I’m switching to touchscreen too!” he had to say.

The foundations of BlackBerry were laid in 1984 by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin with the company they named “Research In Motion”.

The duo was dreaming of a secure communication platform for mobile devices and it came true; This is how the foundations of BlackBerry were laid.

When 1999 came, RIM team took the stage and introduced the first BlackBerry device. Other phones were just keypads, but this device could send and receive emails. He was almost a superhero of that time, so no one had to deal with computers when sending e-mails.

BlackBerry 5810, which appeared on the scene in 2002, was a true legend.

This device, which can make phone calls and send and receive e-mails, has become indispensable in the business world. Saying “I have a BlackBerry”, it was like a membership card among the VIPs of that era. But smartphones arrived on the scene, competitors rose, and BlackBerry’s throne was shaken a bit.

As such, its market share has experienced a serious decline. We will explain it in the future, but for now let’s say that the company made a strategic decision. Who knows, maybe they’ll come back one day?

By 2002, the mobile phone craze gradually emerged.

Before the mobile phone, there was a technology people used: pocket computers. These devices have portable sizes and touch screens; He was performing tasks such as taking notes, communicating, sending mail. The disappearance of this technology, which is slowly losing its effect, occurred with the emergence of mobile phones.

These pocket computers would merge with the telephone. RIM founder Lazaridis also marketed the BlackBerry 5810 with the slogan “Always On, Always Connected.”. Just a year after this first mobile phone hit the market, the RIM team went to work and created a miracle fueled by user feedback: the BlackBerry Quark! This device allowed you to make calls without a headset for the first time.

Then, towards the end of 2002, the BlackBerry 7000 series appeared on the scene with its color and high-resolution screens.

The shift towards sharp lines in design gave birth to a real rival to the more minimal mobile phones of the period: Charm series. This series, which had its first encounter with Bluetooth, relieved users by putting an end to keypad confusion. This design, called SureType, was a revolution that made those accustomed to computer keyboards happy in their pockets.

At that time, phones came with the T9 layout, an alphabetical order with three or four letters assigned to each key. BlackBerry’s SureType stands out with a Q keyboard layout. There were two letters on each key.

Although mobile phones initially entered the business market, manufacturers later decided to make the devices suitable for daily use.

When Motorola Q with Windows Mobile and some Treo and Nokia models appeared on the market, BlackBerry also said “Let’s spice up the party!” he said and Between 2005 and 2007, it exploded with the Electron, Pearl and Curve series.

Screens became colourful, memories expanded, cameras were added, microSD card slots opened, Wi-Fi arrived and of course BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Everyone was introduced to the feature that could be considered the WhatsApp of that period.

Today, it is obvious that applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram make our lives easier. But there was no such messaging channel at that time; BBM was born to serve this purpose. It was a high-level technology that showed that the sent message had reached the other party and even that it had been read.

BBM was a platform that existed only on BlackBerry phones, just like iMessage was exclusive to iPhone users.

This business model, which directs users to join a unique community, has encouraged people to buy BlackBerry branded phones. According to RIM’s data In 2011, BBM reached 43 million active users worldwide.

This shows how powerful BlackBerry is It was a significant success. So BBM, at that time “Is everyone using BBM, or why don’t we know anything about it?” It made us ask questions.

Let’s come to the years when everything changed. Steve Jobs created that magical device that he believed would completely turn the definition of the phone upside down. It introduced the iPhone to the scene in 2007; It managed to fascinate everyone with its touch screen and advanced software. Although it shook BlackBerry’s throne, it had difficulty in overthrowing it immediately. At that time, a competitive war began between mobile phones.

When Apple’s mobile phones burst onto the scene, other companies decided to adapt to a new era as well.

In 2008, RIM, wanting to fight against the rapid rise of the iPhone, took two important steps. Firstly, The Bold product family, which has become the upper level of the Curve series for consumers, has emerged.

Bold models jumped to the next level in terms of quality and attracted attention with their carbon fiber and metal alloy cases. Another move by RIM is The first BlackBerry with a touch screen device became Storm.

This phone, which was disappointing in terms of concept and implementation, showed that the crisis was at the door. In this period, mobile phones have moved beyond just making calls. They began to turn into objects of luxury and technology.

Storm was produced technically incorrectly. This caused a lot of returns and exchanges, and errors in the operating system caused great damage to the brand.

Learning from its first touchscreen phone, BlackBerry soon Introduced Storm 2. This model contributed to the recovery of the brand, at least a little. We can say that 2010 was a period when mobile phones evolved into smartphones.

iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Desire While popular devices such as made touch phones the norm, competition was now intensifying between operating systems. Overshadowed by the conflict between iOS and Android, RIM could not fully keep up with the touch screen craze.

After the failure of SurePress, RIM switched to normal touch screen like its competitors and also invested in the software side. Torch added advanced social media integration to the 9800 model. An internet browser comparable to iOS and Android has been added to the device. This was an important move by RIM to avoid falling behind the competition.

Smartphones have become an arena in which companies want to exist.

When Apple introduced the iPad in 2010, in a move that would further expand this arena; Technology was divided into two different branches: computer and mobile. While the iPad was shining on the scene, a few months later, a tablet was also released from BlackBerry. With its 7-inch screen, 1080p video camera and, unexpectedly, Adobe Flash Player support, PlayBook; Although it was criticized for requiring a BlackBerry phone for applications such as e-mail, calendar and BBM, it attracted attention in many places because it was sold at huge discounts. “Does it need an inspection? Buy it, it’s full of surprises with its advantageous price!” People found themselves in a situation like this:

And in 2011 iPhone dethroned BlackBerry, It became the most popular phone in the USA.

It is a fact that it lost its throne in the USA to Apple, but 80 million people around the world were still using BlackBerry.

In the summer of 2011, RIM laid off 2,000 staff due to revenue losses. The dark clouds had not dispersed because in October of the same year, BlackBerry Internet Services, known as the power of BlackBerry, was launched. There was a major outage.

After these, RIM tried to recover. A new operating system based on QNX to replace BlackBerry OS announced that it will launch a phone. It was first called BBX, but due to copyright reasons they decided on BlackBerry 10. However, due to some problems within the company, the release of new phones was postponed to the second half of 2012 and RIM shares fell rapidly.

While other smartphone manufacturers continued their work, the Android and iOS front was expanding. The chat applications we use today have gradually entered our lives. Especially WhatsApp offers free and fast messaging. He shook the throne of BBM. When the messaging service, which was BlackBerry’s biggest attraction, suffered this blow, news of resignations came one after another.

At the beginning of 2012, RIM’s two CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, left their positions.

Classic, BlackBerry’s last phone with its own operating system, combined the style of the past with the Q10 model. BlackBerry Priv released in 2015 It was the company’s first Android attempt, but it received criticism due to its high price and became the last phone produced by BlackBerry itself.

When the Android initiative failed, the company laid off thousands of staff and, in order to maintain its presence in the industry, it made an agreement with China-based TCL, customized some Alcatel models and launched the DTEK series. However, these phones did not attract enough attention and the company’s global market share did not even reach 0.1 percent. In 2020, TCL announced the end of contracts with BlackBerry and stopped selling BlackBerry devices.

It currently provides services in the driverless car industry.

Unable to survive in the phone market BlackBerry, have integrated the operating system they developed into driverless cars. It has agreements with Qualcomm, Denso and Aptiv for system software called QNX.

In such a story, you may have thought that the company went bankrupt, but surprise! The company specializes in software with thousands of employees. Now there’s a breakthrough not just in the phone, but also in the world of cybersecurity and driverless car technologies. “BlackBerry effect” has created!