The history of the BlackBerry

One of the most popular so called Smartphones on the market today is the RIM Blackberry.

The very first Blackberry, introduced in 1999, was not a phone at all, but a handheld wireless two way pager with PDA functionality.

In 2002, Research In Motion(RIM) introduced a smartphone to their BlackBerry range, which was to go on to be the product that would establish them as the biggest name in the PDA business.

A BlackBerry smartphone can be used to send and receive phone calls, text messages, faxes and emails, as well as surfing the web and acting as a personal organiser.

When RIM brought out their first smartphone in 2002, there were already several such devices on the market, including the market leading Nokia 9000, which was essentially a mobile phone with a QWERTY keyboard, organiser software, and a larger than usual screen. However the BlackBerry managed to steal a march on these rival products by including a number of unique new features.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the BlackBerry was its push emailing function, which allowed users to access their works email account anywhere in the world, with complete and automatic server synchronisation.

The name BlackBerry is derived from its unique keyboard, whose bulbous black keys made the unit look somewhat like the aforementioned small foodstuff. The first models came with a side mounted tracking wheel to allow navigation through the menu system, but later models came with a trackball, which allowed far more flexibility and ease of use, particularly for those used to working with a mouse.

Another feature on some models was Push-to-Talk, which allowed office style remote conversations to take place across much longer distances, in a similar fashion to an intercom system.

Blackberries are very popular with businesses who have a lot of roaming employees, as it offers office-style integration on the move.

One of the great advantages of the BlackBerry email system is that messages could be written and replied to in circumstances where reception is less than optimal, such as on a train, as the unit can queue information to be sent and received whenever transmission is possible.

A handy feature of the BlackBerry is its trilateration function, which works a little like a GPS device, but without the need for connection to a satellite. It is particularly handy for bosses who need to know the whereabouts of their employees, or for finding people in busy thoroughfares that you have never met face to face before.

Vodafone stock a large mobile phone range, including Blackberry for you to chose from.