In 2003 BlackBerry mobile phones revolutionised the mobile technology industry. Managers in both private and public organisations around the world started liking them primarily thanks to the practical QWERTY keyboard, allowing for convenient and quick messaging. Other advantages of these phones included robust design and long battery life, but above all a secure Internet connection and possibility of sending free messages via a highly-secured network of data centres owned by the Research in Motion (RIM) company, later renamed Blackberry.
After 2007 Blackberry has remained in the shadow of Apple and Google. iPhone with the iOS system was launched and a rapid development of smartphones equipped with the Android operating system followed. Touch screens, better graphics, better performance and a large number of applications has become a standard that Blackerry phones could not reach. Moreover, it was increasingly difficult for the highly-secured Blackberry servers to manage the pressure of the huge volume of data produced by their users.
The future? Mobile software and services
The once revolutionary company experienced a tremendous growth in the mobile phones market only for a short period of time. Since 2010 its revenues have steadily declined. The company was able neither to come up with a significant innovation nor copy the innovations of its competitors. The end of the classic Blackberry keyboard (which was later produced again) or implementation of its own Blackberry operating system did not help either. Although the operating system was subsequently replaced by Android, the latest Blackberry models have not achieved commercial success.
The company simply could not keep up with the competition and now, after 14 years, it is ending the production and development of its own smart phones. BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed this following publication of the company's financial results for the second quarter of this year, reporting a net loss of $ 372 million. Hardware development will be outsourced to external companies, while Blackberry will focus on mobile software and services primarily intended for business customers.
Did you use or are you still using a Blackberry phone? Tell us about it.
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