Entry updated · Sources & corrections policy
1999 - 2022
BlackBerry OS
“Sent from my BlackBerry.”
- Birth year
- 1999
- Shutdown year
- 2022
- Lifespan
- 23 years
- Peak era
- 2006-2010
- Company
- Research In Motion / BlackBerry
- Category
- Operating Systems
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What Was It?
BlackBerry OS ran the phones that made email mobile. Built around a physical QWERTY keyboard, first a trackwheel and later a trackball and trackpad, it turned the BlackBerry into the essential device for executives, politicians and, eventually, teenagers hooked on BlackBerry Messenger.
Research In Motion released its first version in 1999 for the BlackBerry 850 pager. By the late 2000s the BlackBerry was a status symbol, and push email and BBM kept users loyal long after touchscreen smartphones arrived.
BlackBerry 10 replaced the old system in 2013, and support for BlackBerry OS devices ended on January 4, 2022, when the legacy services were switched off.
Things You Probably Forgot
- The red blinking notification light
- Rolling the trackball
- "Sent from my BlackBerry"
- Typing fast on a tiny keyboard
- Pinging friends on BBM
The Story
- 1999 Version 1.0 launched on the BlackBerry 850 pager.
- 2002 Version 3.6 shipped on the BlackBerry 5810, an early BlackBerry smartphone.
- 2013 BlackBerry 10 replaced BlackBerry OS.
- 2022 Support and legacy services ended on January 4.
How It Died
BlackBerry OS was superseded by BlackBerry 10 in 2013, and its legacy services and support ended on January 4, 2022.
What Replaced It?
Memories
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