The Rise and Fall of Blackberry Mobiles

Blackberry is a brand of smartphones and mobile devices that were popular in the early 2000s. They were known for their physical keyboards and secure messaging capabilities. However, their popularity declined as competitors like Apple and Samsung released more advanced devices with larger touchscreens and better app ecosystems.

Evolution of Blackberry

Blackberry smartphones have a long and interesting history. The company was founded in 1984 as Research In Motion (RIM) and initially focused on developing wireless data solutions. In 1999, RIM released the Blackberry 850, the first Blackberry device to include a full QWERTY keyboard and email capabilities.

Over the next few years, Blackberry smartphones became increasingly popular with business users who appreciated the device's secure messaging capabilities and efficient keyboard. The company continued to release new models with improved features, such as color screens and multimedia capabilities.

Impact of iPhone on Blackberry

In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, which revolutionized the smartphone market with its large touchscreen and app ecosystem. iPhone didn't kill Blackberry immediately. It just signed it's death warrant. Blackberry initially struggled to keep up with this new trend. But in 2008, the company initially released the Blackberry Pearl Flip Storm and then Blackberry Storm, its first touchscreen device.

However, the Storm was plagued with technical issues and poor reviews, and Blackberry struggled to regain its footing in the smartphone market. But, Blackberry phones still continued to sell for few reasons. The iPhone was expensive and people in US didn't wanna give up their keyboards. So for a while Blackberry was fine. But the company underestimated how quickly the smartphone market was changing.

There was a new updated iPhone every year and the other smartphones like Motorola Droid began to hit shelves. The company tried to keep up and continued to release new models, such as the Blackberry Bold and the Blackberry Torch, but they failed to capture the public's imagination in the same way as the iPhone and other competitors.

The phones missed out a bunch of features that appealed to consumers like high quality front and back cameras in iPhone and other smartphones. Research In Motion's global market share began a downward spiral going from 20 percent in 2009 to less than 9 percent by the end of 2012.

In 2013, Research In Motion (RIM) officially changed it's name to Blackberry. In that year it finally released its spec competitive touch screen phone. But it was just too late. During that time, people were locked into either iPhone or Android. More than 432 million smartphones were sold in the fourth quarter of 2016. But only about 200,000 of those were Blackberry devices, which officially made Blackberry market share zero percent. In 2016, Chinese consumer electronic company TCL bought Blackberry phone brand. This led to the company's departure from the smartphone market.

Factors that contributed to Blackberry's decline

Slow response to changing market trends

Blackberry was slow to respond to the shift towards touchscreen devices and the rise of app ecosystems. While other companies were innovating and developing new features, Blackberry continued to rely on its classic design and email-centric approach.

Technical issues and quality control problems

Blackberry's touchscreen devices, such as the Storm and the Torch, were plagued with technical problems and negative reviews, damaging the company's reputation for quality.

Lack of developer support

Blackberry struggled to attract app developers to its platform, which meant that its app ecosystem was limited compared to competitors.

Failure to appeal to consumers

While Blackberry was popular with business users, it failed to appeal to the wider consumer market. This limited the company's growth potential and made it vulnerable to competitors.

Shift in focus to software and services

Blackberry has shifted its focus away from consumer smartphones and towards software and enterprise security services. While this has allowed the company to remain relevant, it has also meant that Blackberry is no longer seen as a major player in the mobile device market.

The company has continued to release new devices, such as the Blackberry KEYone and the Blackberry Motion, they have failed to capture significant market share. However, Blackberry remains a trusted brand in the enterprise security space, and the company could continue to thrive in that area.