The latest news and comment on Blackberry products
October 2023
The rise and fall of the BlackBerry
Dubbed the ‘crackberry’, it was a tech gamechanger and status symbol. So what happened to the first smartphone and why didn’t the execs see it coming?
Wendy Ide's film of the week
BlackBerry review – smartphone ‘buy-opic’ is a wild ride
Matt Johnson’s boisterous drama about the rise and fall of the mobile diverges refreshingly from the usual arc of product success stories
Blackberry review – souped-up account of the rise and fall of ‘Crackberry’
Hilarity and pathos intertwine in this likable comedy as the smartphone creators go loopy with wealth – and slack-jawed when the iPhone spoils the party
January 2022
Names in the news
Josh Wardle: in Wordle, he has given us an unalloyed pleasure
Rebecca Nicholson
BlackBerry signals end of an era as it prepares to pull plug on classic phones
May 2019
BlackBerry Messenger shuts down as owners blame lack of users
Consumer version of BBM will cease but app aimed at businesses will continue
December 2017
Green shoots at BlackBerry? Fallen phone giant turns its hand to software
Chief executive John Chen has yet to reverse the company’s slide – but a positive response from investors is pushing up its shares
September 2017
BlackBerry shares soar by 12% as software sales hit record
BlackBerry’s transformation from loss-making smartphone maker to software firm continues as quarterly profits rise and the yearly outlook is ‘robust’
January 2017
New BlackBerry smartphone with qwerty keyboard revealed
Manufactured by TCT with BlackBerry’s version of Android, new BlackBerry Press gets teaser before Las Vegas reveal at CES
September 2016
BlackBerry to stop making phones
Canadian company shifts focus to software having struggled to compete as mobile users opt for touchscreens
July 2016
BlackBerry to stop making Classic smartphone, killing keyboards for good
Company to stop making device it hoped would entice users who prefer a physical keyboard, a symbolic shift away from handsets and toward software
March 2016
How did email grow from messages between academics to a global epidemic?
Ray Tomlinson, the man who literally put the @ in email addresses, has died. Here’s a brief history of electronic messages, from the Queen’s first mail to the triumph of spam
December 2015
Blackberry's 12% revenue rise for first time in two years fuels hopes of a revival
Struggling smartphone maker announces a 12% rise in revenue and finds success with phone powered by Google’s Android mobile operating system
November 2015
BlackBerry boss John Chen: security focus heralds return 'from edge of death'
Once a smartphone leader, BlackBerry’s failure to recognize the rise of mobile browsing nearly sunk the firm. Superior security could be key to its survival
July 2015
Pakistan bans BlackBerry services in privacy crackdown
Telecommunication authority orders encrypted messaging and internet services to be stopped ‘for security reasons’
June 2015
BlackBerry planning to launch Android smartphone with sliding keyboard
New smartphone would mark U-turn in company strategy as it struggles to stymie falling sales and moves to place software on iPhones and other Androids
April 2015
Even hackers are concerned Obama's and Clinton's emails remain vulnerable
Russian hackers infiltrating White House email system last year raises ‘red flag’ that Obama’s BlackBerry and Clinton’s ‘home brew’ system are also susceptible
March 2015
I'll stay an MP even if the UK dumps me as PM, David Cameron tells Buzzfeed
Prime minister opens up to news and entertainment website about Isis, the leaders’ debates, smartphones, football and kitchens (he has two too)
February 2015
BlackBerry left on the line as UK users continue to hang up
MyFitnessPal and Endomodo fitness apps bought by Under Armour
