The evolution of the BlackBerry

With the launch this week of the BlackBerry Z10,

Research in Motion (soon to be known as

BlackBerry) launched what it hopes will be the

product to put the one-time smartphone giant

back on the map.

But how did RIM get to the Z10? Today we trace

the evolution of the BlackBerry, from its humble

pager roots, to dominant global player, to one-

time great in need of a turnaround.

By Jeff Jedras

This early model shows RIM’s transition

from pager manufacturer to mobile e-mail

powerhouse, with a pager-like form factor

combined with the must-have QWERTY

keyboard.

In was powered by an Intel 80386

processor and 4MB of flash memory, which

isn’t bad, because back then there was no

Angry Birds.

There were two editions – one for

Exchange email, one for general Internet-

based accounts.

BlackBerry 950

Now this is starting to look familiar. In 2000, the

BlackBerry 957 was a must-have.

It’s not that dissimilar to the QWERTY models of

today in appearance, and the scroll wheel on the

side would be a BlackBerry staple for years, until

the first Curve’s poorly designed trackball.

This model also had a 80386 processor, but

upped the RAM by 1MB and introduced a

rechargeable lithium battery – no more raiding

the remote control.

BlackBerry 957

An early attempt by RIM to jump from e-mail

device to what we would today consider a

smartphone, the BlackBerry 5810 added

phone capability, but with one caveat – there

was no built-in microphone or speaker,

forcing you to fumble for your headset when

the phone rings.

It was also one of the early devices to

introduce SMS messaging to North America –

no headset requires for texting.

BlackBerry 5810

Colour!

In 2005, the BlackBerry 7250’s display was still pretty

basic, but at least it was colourful.

In addition to being able to make phone calls

without a separate headset, it introduced Bluetooth

connectivity for supported peripherals and now

boasted 32MB of flash memory. However its rated

3.3 hours of talk time and eight days of standby time

on a charge disappointed some.

Oh, if they could only see us now.

BlackBerry 7250

The Pearl was an early attempt by RIM

beginning in 2006 to break into the consumer

market.

In addition to colour choice, it was the first

BlackBerry to feature a camera and a media

player, and a much more phone-like form

factor.

The model was discontinued four years later,

having not found much love with either

BlackBerry purists or traditional mobile

consumers.

BlackBerry Pearl 8100

Later in the decade, RIM would have two

primary BlackBerry lines: the budget-friendly

Curve and more powerful Bold.

Launched late in 2009, the BlackBerry Bold 9700

boasted Wi-Fi calling and a browser with HTML

viewing – which may not sound like much now,

but at the time, for BlackBerry users, it was a

nice advance.

Still, weak browsers would remain a BlackBerry

deficiency.

BlackBerry Bold 9700