BlackBerry, smartphone pioneer, finally hangs up on its classic devices

The era of the classic BlackBerry phone may have ended some time ago, but any stragglers still holding on to their Bold or Curve or Passport will be forced to put it down for good this week.

As originally announced in 2020, BlackBerry will end support for its pre-Android devices on January 4 US time, meaning the 2014 BlackBerry Classic and all older phones will lose the ability to make calls, send or receive messages, or access the internet, even on Wi-Fi. It’s the final nail in the coffin for machines that were once hailed as the height of mobile productivity.

Research in Motion, the company that would eventually be renamed BlackBerry, introduced its first device in 1996. It and the first few BlackBerry devices were essentially two-way pagers, allowing users in the US to message each other. By 2002 the BlackBerry had an integrated mobile phone, 2G data capabilities and Java-powered software to let users send emails and access a basic version of the web while on the go. This was five years before the first iPhone, and it represented a major shift in the way people could work when away from their computers.

The large rectangular devices with full keyboards became a status symbol, as well as a portent of our phone-addicted future. Users’ tendencies to spend all their time checking emails, sending messages and updating websites gave rise to the pejorative nickname “Crackberry”, and in 2003 Time Magazine listed the BlackBerry Quark among the 100 greatest gadgets of all time.

Though their reputation for strong security meant the devices became popular with corporations and government agencies, by 2008 BlackBerry was aggressively marketing to consumers keen to take the internet with them wherever they went. This era saw popular models including the Curve, Bold and Storm, which were embraced by public figures from Barack Obama to Kim Kardashian.

Use of BlackBerry phones peaked in 2012, when according to the company there were around 80 million subscribers worldwide. But this was mostly due to the rising tide; 80 million in 2012 was just five per cent of the global smartphone market, whereas BlackBerry had enjoyed a 20 per cent slice in 2009.

Significant advancements in the iOS and Android ecosystems (the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 were also released in 2012), combined with the growing popularity of smartphones for personal use as well as business was making it tough for BlackBerry to keep up. By 2016 it reported only 20 million users, a tiny market share, and announced it would stop producing its own hardware.

The main thing holding BlackBerry back was the same thing that made it so iconic; the physical keyboard. Smartphones were becoming a new kind of general computer that could access any web page, play games and show videos, while the classic BlackBerry form factor meant it was still best at tasks that required entering text. Experiments with full touchscreen BlackBerries such as the Z30, and new formats such as the Passport, only served to show how behind the company was in terms of embracing an app ecosystem.

There have been several attempts to reinvent the brand as a modern smartphone, some with and some without hardware keyboards, but none have caught on. These Android-powered devices, including the Priv and Keyone, will continue to work after this week.

As for those still clinging to their old BlackBerries, it’s finally time to look for a replacement. As BlackBerry — which is now a company focused purely on enterprise security — noted in its reminder statement this week, the sunset for these devices has been a long time coming.

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In fact even if the company wanted to keep supporting the devices, many are old enough that the wireless signals they relied on are being retired or replaced. Several models of BlackBerry, for example, used 2100MHz 3G networks, which some Australian telcos have already decommissioned, with the remaining 3G infrastructure to disappear in the coming years. When that happens many cult retro phones, including Microsoft Lumias and early Samsung Galaxies, will be reduced to boxy paperweights even if their batteries are somehow still going.

But as old BlackBerries finally switch off for good, their legacy is with us every day. By allowing people to send emails and accomplish a range of work tasks no matter where they were, BlackBerry kicked off the technological blurring of personal time and office time that these days — with every device capable of connecting you to your colleagues and everyone else — is practically complete.