BlackBerry was everywhere before the iPhone and Android came along.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Back then, BlackBerry was everywhere before the iPhone and Android came along. After the presence of Android and iPhone, the decline in market share is very drastic. People like BlackBerry them with a combination of an external keyboard and a messaging service as a way to communicate with coworkers outside of the office.
BlackBerry ushered in the mobile era for many businesses. BlackBerry phones have been declared dead time and time again since falling from their peak of popularity more than a decade ago. The company finally ended service for its devices this week.
Starting January 4, phones running BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry 7.1 software or earlier will no longer work reliably on carrier networks or over Wi-Fi. Reported from CNET, Tuesday (4/1), this means the phone will no longer be able to use data, make phone calls, send text messages, or make emergency 911 calls.
These affected BlackBerry phones are old. BlackBerry 10, the last version of the mobile OS released by RIM, came out in 2013. RIM discontinued its BlackBerry line in 2016 and shifted its focus to security software under the name BlackBerry Limited.
In 2016, Chinese manufacturer TCL took the license for BlackBerry Mobile and released BlackBerry KeyOne and BlackBerry Key2. This phone, running Android, is not affected by end of service for legacy BlackBerry software and services. However, TCL stopped making BlackBerry phones in 2020 and said it would support the device until August 2022.
Security startup OnwardMobility later picked up the BlackBerry Mobile brand, saying it would release a new BlackBerry 5G Android phone in the first half of 2021. These phones haven’t materialized yet.
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