Blackberry Bye Bye

The slow demise of the Blackberry marches forward, despite the claims of their management who seem to think they maintain a niche market in today's world of iPhones and Androids.

I read this earlier today from a guy who still enjoys and loves his Blackberry:

In the age of the touchscreen phone, BlackBerry owners, as I have discovered, face public opprobrium similar to the hardy souls who drove Skoda cars in the 1980s, or who kept faith with Betamax video recorders long after they were supplanted by the VHS format. Our phone has in a relatively short time become a laughing stock, a byword for naffness – a relic for losers in an age of apps, quick mobile internet access and touchscreen keypads.

The piece continues:

BlackBerry’s problems are legion. It was slow to embrace touchscreens, partly because the 72m or so BlackBerry owners (myself included) like the physical keypad and writing long emails on a touchscreen is devilishly difficult. But its app store is understocked and not particularly user friendly. Another problem is that older models, such as mine, struggle to run most apps.

But possibly the biggest issue facing it is that consumers no longer view it positively. It has lost its cachet and no amount of product rejigging will be able to restore it. BlackBerry is no longer cool.

(Matthew Garrahan)

Yeah, the company's problems are mammoth.... and mounting.  Can they resurrect what was once a major... no, MAMMOTH... brand in the business-oriented handheld phone market?

Doubtful.

I remember getting my first Blackberry.  if i remember correctly, it was back in 2006 or early 2007.  I was thrilled.  ECSTATIC, actually.

That model, plus the one I was upgraded to in 2009, really served me well.  Check and send e-mail from pretty much anywhere.  Provide a means for me to make notes and voice messages to myself.  Write my "Monday Morning Weekly Warm-up" newsletters to my team at work.

Great functionality.  Great resource.

Now that I'm on an iPhone, would I ever want to go back?  

Not a chance.

Not cool.

Out for now....

Matt