Last night brought Fairfax Financial BlackBerry on a bid of 4.7 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros). If the deal is closed it means that BlackBerry disappears from the consumer. How could the company decay and what does the acquisition for the future?
The first BlackBerry, a pager
1999 Research In Motion (RIM) launched its first mobile device, the BlackBerry 850. It is a pager, a device that can only received, while BlackBerry’s pager can also send messages. Information up to that point The 850 is a device with a screen with a color and includes a calendar and SMS service.
The BlackBerry BlackBerry 850.De 850, the first mobile device from RIM’s BlackBerry 850, the first mobile device from RIM
A year later, the RIM 957, which you can email appears, but still did not call. RIM is not the only company such a device – a mobile phone with which you can not call – makes. Thus comes with the Nokia 9000 series, with its Symbian based Ericsson R380 and the Kyocera 6035 Palm OS turned on.
From business to generalmaker phones
In 2002 RIM BlackBerry 5810. presents It is the first BlackBerry that uses GSM and GPRS technology. The breakthrough came a few versions later, with the 6200 – and 7100-series: business start these phones also private use
.
In 2005, following the 8700 series. The improved design, many features and QWERTY keyboard adds a growing popularity in the business market. With the BlackBerry Pearl (2006) and Curve (2007) the phone maker focuses for the first time to a wider audience. And it works: the phones ‘to beat’ and be massively bought
.
The BlackBerry Curve.
everything changes
In 2007 appears a new player on the scene: Apple, which just made computers and MP3 players up to that point. In January of 2007, presents his iPhone, a phone with a large 3.5-inch touch screen. It means a revolution in the phone market.
iPhone 2G, the first Apple iPhone.
Phone Makers react negatively and do not bode well for the computer maker. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, even laconic on the launch and states that the phone is too expensive. RIM states that users need a physical keyboard to work properly. Continue to adhere to such a keyboard, years fixed is one of the causes of the collapse the company: the ‘smartphone boat’ is missed
.
The ‘Bold’ and ‘Storm’: mix of tradition and innovation
BlackBerry comes in 2008 with the Bold 9000 series, a phone with a physical keyboard. That same year presents its first Google phone, the HTC Dream. The phone has both a touchscreen and a physical keyboard seems therefore somewhat on BlackBerry phones. Were it not for Google’s smartphone has a larger screen.
In November 2008 comes with RIM’s BlackBerry Storm, a phone with a touch screen. Also, the smartphone maker with the BlackBerry App World, in response to Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market. One gets the brand a market share of 20.8 percent, but drops soon gone.
RIM invests, but it does not help
RIM has been through the lot is in trouble and that a small update will not help. The company invests in 2010 in a new operating system that eventually the BlackBerry Tablet OS and BlackBerry 10 should go driving. RIM that BlackBerry PlayBook.
also presents
The BlackBerry PlayBook.
In April 2011, the PlayBook on the market, but it soon becomes clear that the sale is disappointing. Go with the services of RIM not always good. There arises a brief revival after the launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 with SMS service Ping that attracts many young people. With the advent of WhatsApp (2009), which also iOS and Android users can send each other messages over the internet the added value of Ping falls away.
A new CEO
In 2012 the bosses of RIM leave. The new CEO, Thorsten Heins, can not turn the tide. Despite investments in new devices like the BlackBerry 10 manages the company barely to keep the water. Above head Last Friday it was announced that BlackBerry (RIM in January 2013 changed its name to BlackBerry) in the second quarter of 2013 has suffered a loss of 995 million dollars, with a massive layoff due.
Technology Editor NRC Marc Hijink the fall of BlackBerry:
BlackBerry was a time so successful that it was difficult to renew long. The company clung hose to the keyboard and operating system are renewed too late. In the booming smartphone market, the Canadians lacked scale, in order to continue to attract developers and customer loyalty.
profitLast quarter were 225 million smartphones sold worldwide, with 3.7 million BlackBerrys. The total number of users of the BlackBerry service fell to 72 million. That’s a bit too small compared to the 700 million devices (iPhones, iPads and iPods) that run on Apple iOS. And there are more than 1 billion according to Google Android phones in circulation.
CEO Thorsten Heins presented in February this year the BlackBerry Z10.
The future of BlackBerry
That BlackBerry
of the fair is met, does not mean the end of smartphones. The company stopped making consumer phones and plans to four phones with focus on the business market. In addition, BlackBerry is thus probably in private hands. Fairfax Financial soon need to show. No sales Whether that makes for positive coverage and perhaps even a revival? As long as no good alternative is for iOS and Android is very doubtful.
Sources: Engadget and CrackBerry
.
No comments:
Post a Comment