Bye Bye Blackberry

[Blueray]

Your BlackBerry dies on Jan 4: End of an era for iconic handset

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - BlackBerry devices running the original operating system and services will no longer be supported after Tuesday (Jan 4), marking the end of an era for the storied device that catapulted work into the mobile era.

Ontario-based BlackBerry Ltd, the company formerly known as Research In Motion, whose signature handset in the 1990s came to embody working on the move, said handsets running its in-house software "will no longer be expected to reliably function" after Tuesday, according to its end-of-life page.

The move, first announced in 2020, effectively kills off a line-up that remains popular to this day in parts of the world for its reliability and security.

BlackBerry devices and their physical keyboards were once the go-to mobile device both for professionals keeping up with e-mail and younger people messaging on its proprietary platform.

The company's appeal waned as Apple's iPhone and a slew of Android handsets with larger displays, better graphics and wider app offerings took over the market during the past decade.

The Canadian company stopped making its own smartphones in 2016, shifting to a software-only business and licensing its brand and services to TCL Communication Technology Holdings, which continued to release devices until its deal ran out in 2020.

The TCL devices were powered by Alphabet's Android OS and will be supported until August.

Yet nostalgia for the BlackBerry name made it one of the meme stocks of 2021, triggering a massive spike in its share price in January before a similarly steep decline.

"These devices will lack the ability to receive over-the-air provisioning updates and as such, this functionality will no longer be expected to reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 functionality," the company wrote.

"Applications will also have limited functionality."

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/your-blackberry-dies-on-jan-4-end-of-an-era-for-iconic-handset

 

[Sdf4786k]

I believe blackberry has move on to cybersecurity

[Wt_know]

wow ... couldn't forget the 1st time i got my BB (no color) that can check email like god sent .... 

some more got keypad ... unbelievable ... lol

then iphone 3G come ... jit dong jeng !

Edited January 4, 2022 by Wt_know

[Watwheels]

Mine was a Palm Treo running on Windows OS, it was like a BB but better. Palm died long ago. But back then I simply loved it. I can put my schedules in the calendar, read my mail, I even installed navigation software(Papago) and run it with an external gps module (Holux). It has BT to link to my single ear piece receiver/speaker. Like all Palm devices it has a stylus that is stored at the back of the phone. Surprisingly it was very reliable. Back then it was the best phone I have ever come across...until Apple came up with the iphone. LoL...

 

[Atrecord]

Not a techie guy, had never heard of it beforehand, but company used it and issued one. Was amazed that could check email without computer or data plan (for my personal hp).

Lost one once... and had to use an older model for months before given a newer model.

trivial:
A junior colleague who also didn't know of this product, had thought that it's a fruit!!! When her boss asked her to go to the boss' office to help bring over the BB, the colleague went back to say that she looked, but couldn't see any fruits there... 🤣

[Thaiyotakamli]

the last i had was the bold one. It was do cool And sleek

[Arogab]

I remember carrying one around for almost 3 years. Fantastic phone to have.

[Playtime]

11 hours ago, Wt_know said:

wow ... couldn't forget the 1st time i got my BB (no color) that can check email like god sent .... 

and from then on.... cursed whoever the fish invented it and made you a slave to constant email updates and demands. 🤣

 

actually also cant remember the last time i saw anyone carry BB...

[Dp26]

Loved my BB when I was using it in the past. Actually bought a 2nd one cos the keyboard was just fantastic for me. 

[kobayashiGT]

3 hours ago, Watwheels said:

Mine was a Palm Treo running on Windows OS, it was like a BB but better. Palm died long ago. But back then I simply loved it. I can put my schedules in the calendar, read my mail, I even installed navigation software(Papago) and run it with an external gps module (Holux). It has BT to link to my single ear piece receiver/speaker. Like all Palm devices it has a stylus that is stored at the back of the phone. Surprisingly it was very reliable. Back then it was the best phone I have ever come across...until Apple came up with the iphone. LoL...

 

back then I always wanted qwerty keypad phone. No money get blackberry, so i gotten this.

I very good phone also. hahaha. Accompanied my NSF days. 😂

[Enye]

hated that non stop blinking red light esp when it comes on at night

🙄😬

[Stary]

Never use a BB before.......

To me at that time, BB is to make someone work beyond 9-5..........😂

Edited January 5, 2022 by Starry

[Voodooman]

5 hours ago, Thaiyotakamli said:

the last i had was the bold one. It was do cool And sleek

BB used to be king in Indonesia.

Was carrying one for 10 years, loved the keyboard before someone invented swype keyboard.

[Wt_know]

9 minutes ago, Voodooman said:

BB used to be king in Indonesia.

Was carrying one for 10 years, loved the keyboard before someone invented swype keyboard.

it's a good learning lesson that KING can be dethrone ... no matter how great it "was"

once upon a time ... i see Motorola and Nokia are unshakeable ... 

some don't see it coming ... some see it coming and still do nothing  

just like Mark saying Facebook would be obsolete if not moving to Metaverse

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Wt_know

[Shibadog]

had a few different models of BB, including a few Bold models, the Q10 and the Prive. 

miss the keyboard but the full screen experience + apps designed for the screen really killed it off, not to mention their stubbornness in not allowing non-bb hp to use BBM. By the time they allowed it, it was way too late. Overtaken by WhatsApp.

good thing abt BBM is can exchange pin to text each other while not revealing hp number. 

[Mustank]

1 hour ago, Starry said:

Never use a BB before.......

To me at that time, BB is to make someone work beyond 9-5..........😂

Me too 

From pager to Nokia, then to cheap android phone then iPhone 

never think of buying one 

those holding one is suay siao kena force by office to hold one

like the 9 rings, 3 for the elven kings ….

[Mustank]

8 minutes ago, Wt_know said:

it's a good learning lesson that KING can be dethrone ... no matter how great it "was"

once upon a time ... i see Motorola and Nokia are unshakeable ... 

some don't see it coming ... some see it coming and still do nothing  

just like Mark saying Facebook would be obsolete if not moving to Metaverse

 

I think their advertising revenue was dropping 

so have to move on

when they develop virtual sex parties, tours across land time and dimensions that would be the time 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Mustank

[Atrecord]

oh yes, another trivial...

i obviously underestimated and underutilised the BB when i had it...

About 13 years ago, we drove to Genting. Those days were before all the many smart phones (of GPS) became common. But my bro-in-law had a HTC smartphone which was a forerunner for smartphones, which he had also used successfully to navigate to genting about 5 mth before us.

My BIL set up the bearings for us, told us just follow. Those days still didn't know GPS at all lor...

The problem was, the phone was quite old/used already, and he already warned us that the touchscreen was not v responsive anymore... Anyway, long story short, the HTC didn't work when we needed to use it, and we were helpless.

I had my BB with me, and remembered there was a GPS feature. Launched it, but it didn't look like it was working... so closed it back, and eventually had to ask the locals for directions...

Then much later, i found out that the GPS on the BB actually works! Just that it needed a longer time (maybe ~2-3 min) for it to launch/sync, before it will start displaying and running.

Wah piang... really stupid lor... could have saved us the anxiety (with parents and young kids on tow)...