BlackBerry Phones are Making a Comeback

Credit: BlackBerry

The BlackBerry’s legacy still carries on today.

Two years after the “last” BlackBerry phone, the BlackBerry logo will once again grace the smartphone. The forthcoming device will even come complete with its famous physical QWERTY keyboard.

It is important to note that the new phone is not a “true” BlackBerry phone; although Blackberry has not been in the phone business since 2016, the company continued to license its brand to phone manufacturers. OnwardMobility, an Austin, Texas company, has taken up the brand for the 2021 release, planning a model with an Android OS and 5G connectivity.

Back in its heyday, the Blackberry was famous for two things: a physical keyboard and air-tight security. Blackberry peaked in 2012, boasting more than 80 million active users and serving as a symbol of success and profit. The company began in 1996 as Research In Motion, and its devices were originally two-way pagers. The first gadget, the “Inter@ctive Pager,” allowed customers to respond to pages with what would become its signature physical keyboard. Three years later, RIM introduced the BlackBerry name, and thus was born the BlackBerry 850.

Credit: Adam Patrick Murray/IDG

Though remaining a secure phone for years, it was Apple’s touchscreen technology with the iPhone in 2007 that made BlackBerry began to decline.

Over the years, smartphones have become much more secure. With so much going on in the world— the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, remote employment and unemployment— demand for strong security has reached an all-time high. To answer that call, OnwardMobility is using the Blackberry to deliver security and convenient accessibility (specifically the physical keyboard).

“Enterprise professionals are eager for secure 5G devices that enable productivity, without sacrificing the user experience,” Peter Franklin, CEO of OnwardMobility, said in a statement. “BlackBerry smartphones are known for protecting communications, privacy, and data.”

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