Facts about BlackBerry

1. 11

   At its peak popularity, BlackBerry devices were so associated with workplace addiction that users coined the nickname 'CrackBerry' to describe their compulsive email-checking behavior.

   BlackBerryJun 8shareculturemobilesmartphones
2. 10

   Canada-based BlackBerry revolutionized corporate email access by allowing users to send and receive messages wirelessly in real time, a capability that drove rapid adoption among business executives in the early 2000s.

   BlackBerryJun 8sharebusinessmobilehistory
3. 09

   During 2007, Canadian carriers began offering unlimited data plans specifically for BlackBerry devices, undercutting competitors' tiered pricing and driving adoption across North America.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharebusinesstechnologyhistory
4. 08

   By 2016, BlackBerry's market share had collapsed to less than 1 percent globally as the company discontinued its proprietary operating system in favor of Android.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharetechnologybusinessdecline
5. 07

   Former U.S. President Barack Obama used a BlackBerry throughout his first term in office despite security concerns, requiring the Secret Service to develop a custom encrypted version for his use.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharepoliticssecuritygovernment
6. 06

   BlackBerry devices required a mandatory data plan in the United States starting in 2002, costing users an extra $30 monthly fee that competitors did not impose on their smartphones.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharebusinesstechnologywireless
7. 05

   Approximately 75 percent of BlackBerry devices sold between 2008 and 2012 included a physical QWERTY keyboard, a design choice that became obsolete after Apple's iPhone popularized touchscreen-only smartphones.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharetechnologydesignmarket
8. 04

   Research in Motion's stock price peaked at $147 per share in June 2008, valuing the BlackBerry maker at approximately $83 billion before the smartphone market shifted toward touchscreen devices.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharefinancetechnologyhistory
9. 03

   The BlackBerry Bold 9700, released in 2009, featured a redesigned physical keyboard with 20 percent smaller keys than previous models while maintaining the same overall device size.

   BlackBerryMay 14sharetechnologyhardwaredesign
10. 02

    BlackBerry's BBM messaging service reached 60 million users by 2012, becoming one of the earliest and most successful proprietary mobile messaging platforms before WhatsApp's dominance.

    BlackBerryMay 14sharetechnologymessaging2012
11. 01

    In 2009, BlackBerry controlled approximately 20 percent of the global smartphone market, making it the second-most popular platform after Nokia.

    BlackBerryMay 14sharetechnologybusinesshistory