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BlackBerry is a line of wireless handheld devices ¬designed and marketed by BlackBerry Limited,

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BlackBerry is a line of wireless handheld devices ¬designed and marketed by BlackBerry Limited, formerly known as Research In Motion Limited (RIM). The first BlackBerry device, an email pager, appeared on the market in 1999. (1) The two-way pager is almost never used anymore, which is a good demonstration of just how fast the technology has been developed. The pager was considered a novel product since most of handheld devices up until then had only one way communication. The original BlackBerry allowed the person who was receiving the message to respond to the sender by using a keypad.

The most recent (2013) BlackBerry devices are the Q10, Q5, Z30, and Z10. Most of the models had relied on a physical QWERTY keyboard, while newer …show more content…

(4) In 1995, RIM's early development was financed by Canadian venture capital investors through a private placement in the company. Working Ventures Canadian Fund Inc. led the first venture round with the capitals being used to develop RIM's mobile device. (5) RIM worked with RAM Mobile Data and Ericsson to turn Mobitex wireless data network developed by Ericsson into a two-way paging system and wireless e-mail network. In 1996, RIM introduced the Inter@ctive Pager, the first messaging pager. (6) The device provided only basic email and the Internet services. The company made its first public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January 1997 under the symbol RIM. (4)

In 1999, RIM was listed on NASDAQ under the symbol RIMM, but the bigger event was the introduction of RIM 850, the first BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard. (4) The device had a six- or eight-line display and allowed users to send email, messages and had address books, calendars, task lists, a calculator and an alarm function. The device was the first-featured smartphone that connected people to their corporate email and contacts and led the smartphone market for a decade. According to IDC, RIM sold the most smartphones in the United States for the first quarter of 2008. (7) RIM successfully broadened the appeal of the BlackBerry to more than just professionals with new consumer-friendly devices like the BlackBerry Thunder and the BlackBerry Bold. The company was well-positioned to

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