PROJECT REPORT ON

BLACKBERRY
 HISTORY

BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian multinational company specialising in

enterprise software and the Internet of things. Originally known as Research In
Motion (RIM), it is best known to the general public as the former developer of
the BlackBerry brand of smartphones, and tablets. It transitioned to an enterprise
software and services company under CEO John S. Chen. Its products are used
worldwide by various businesses, car makers, and government agencies. They
include BlackBerry Cylance's artificial intelligence based cyber-security solutions,
the BlackBerry AtHoc emergency communication system (ECS) platform;
the QNX real-time operating system; and BlackBerry Enterprise
Server (BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Manager), a Unified Endpoint
Management (UEM) platform. BlackBerry was founded in 1984 as Research In
Motion by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin. In 1992, Lazaridis hired Jim
Balsillie, and Lazaridis and Balsillie served as co-CEOs until January 22, 2012. In
November 2013, John S. Chen took over as CEO. His initial strategy was to
subcontract manufacturing to Foxconn, and to focus on software technology.
Currently, his strategy includes forming licensing partnerships with device
manufacturers such as TCL Communication and unifying BlackBerry's software
portfolio.
 WHEN IT WAS FOUNDED?
Blackberry was founded in March 1984 by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas
Fregin. At the time, Lazaridis was an engineering student at the University of
Waterloo while Fregin was an engineering student at the University of Windsor. In
1988, RIM became the first wireless data technology developer in North America
and the first company outside Scandinavia to develop connectivity products for
Mobitex wireless packet-switched data communications networks. In 1990, RIM
introduced the DigiSync Film KeyKode Reader. In 1991, RIM introduced the first
Mobitex protocol converter. In 1992, RIM introduced the first Mobitex point-of-
sale solution, a protocol converter box that interfaced with existing point-of-sale
terminal equipment to enable wireless communication. In 1993, RIM introduced
the RIMGate, the first general-purpose Mobitex X.25 gateway. In the same year,
RIM launched Ericsson Mobidem AT and Intel wireless modem containing RIM
modem firmware. In 1994, RIM introduced the first Mobitex mobile point-of-sale
terminal. In the same year, RIM received the Emmy Award for Technical
Innovation and the KPMG High Technology Award. In 1995, RIM introduced
Freedom, the first Type II PCMCIA radio modem for Mobitex.

In 1995, RIM was financed by Canadian institutional and venture capital investors
through a private placement in the privately held company. Working Ventures
Canadian Fund Inc. led the first venture round with a C$5,000,000 investment with
the proceeds being used to complete the development of RIM's two-way paging
system hardware and software. A total of C$30,000,000 in pre-IPO financing was
raised by the company prior to its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock
Exchange in January 1998 under the symbol RIM.
In 1996, RIM introduced the Inter@ctive Pager, the first two-way messaging
pager, and the RIM 900 OEM radio modem. The company worked with RAM
Mobile Data and Ericsson to turn the Ericsson-developed Mobitex wireless data
network into a two-way paging and wireless e-mail network. Pivotal in this
development was the release of the Inter@ctive Pager 950, which started shipping
in August 1998. About the size of a bar of soap, this device competed against the
Skytel two-way paging network developed by Motorola.

In 1999, RIM introduced the BlackBerry 850 pager. Named in reference to the
resemblance of its keyboard's keys to the druplets of the blackberry fruit, the
device could receive push email from a Microsoft Exchange Server using its
complementary server software, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The
introduction of the BlackBerry set the stage for future enterprise-oriented products
from the company, such as the BlackBerry 957 in April 2000, the first
BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry OS platform and BES continued to
increase in functionality—while the incorporation
of encryption and S/MIME support helped BlackBerry devices gain increased
usage by governments and businesses. During fiscal 1999-2001, total assets
declared in the RIM's balance sheet grew eight-fold due to massive capacity
expansion.
 Top 5 Most Popular Blackberry Mobile
Phones
1. BlackBerry Torch 9800

Best of both Worlds – Large Display with Touchscreen and the same awesome
QWERTY keypad.

This is the latest Blackberry mobile and is also the regarded as one of the best. It
comes with 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen (with multi-touch capability) with
a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels and runs on the latest Blackberry 6 OS. It also
features the trademark Blackberry Qwerty Keypad (slide out) and the optical track
pad. Blackberry Torch has a 512 MB RAM and comes with a 4 GB internal
memory with external memory support of up to 32 GB. It is equipped with a 5MP
auto-focus camera with a LED flash. GPS navigation with A-GPS support is also
available. All in all Blackberry Torch is a complete package.

2. BlackBerry Storm2 9520

Blackberry for all the Touch Screen Lovers

If you love large displays and touch screens, this one is for you. Blackberry Storm2
is the next version of the popular Blackberry Storm. Storm 2 comes with a brilliant
3.25 inches (360 x 480 pixels) TFT capacitive touchscreen. It features Sure Press
technology which along with SureType allows for faster and more intuitive typing
and feedback. Best part about Storm2 is its battery life which lasts for around 48
hours (with push mail, 3G and wi-fi active) unlike any other touchscreen
smartphone. This is probably the best touch screen phone if your primary
requirement is email, messaging and web browsing.

3. BlackBerry Bold 3 9780

The Best QWERTY Bar Blackberry

If you love the standard Blackberry form factor i.e. the Qwerty then this is the one
for you. Blackberry Bold 3 9780 is one of the most recently launched blackberry
and comes with the new Blackberry OS 6. Screen is 480 x 360 pixels, 2.44 inches.
It has same awesome qwerty keypad with a touch sensitive optical track pad. It
comes with a 5 MP camera and a LED Flash. It keeps up RIM’s reputation of
manufacturing well built, rugged, tough mobiles. It comes with the usual
connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, global roaming etc and also GPS navigation.
Battery life is also superb.

4. BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300

Best Value for Money Blackberry

Blackberry Curve 3G 9300 is the advanced version of the cheapest Blackberry

Curve 8520. It comes with a 2.46 inches display with a resolution of 320 x 240
pixels, touch-sensitive optical trackpad and the standard Blackberry Qwerty
keypad. Connectivity options include global roaming (on GSM), 3G, Wi-Fi. It
comes with GPS Navigation and supports Blackberry maps as well as Google
Maps. It runs on BlackBerry OS 5.0 which is upgradable. Where it lacks, is in the
multimedia department. It comes with just a 2 MP camera. Battery life is awesome
and can last up to 2 days with normal usage and 3G active. With its reasonable
price, this is the best value for money Blackberry phone. But if you are looking for
a good multimedia and camera phone, stay aware from it. It is best only for email,
messaging, communication and social networking.

5. BlackBerry Curve 8520

The Cheapest Blackberry

BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the entry level mobile from Blackberry. It comes with a
2.46 inch TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, standard Blackberry
Qwerty keypad and the optical trackpad. It runs on Blackberry OS and a 512 MHz
processor. Camera is just 2MP which is justified for its price. Connectivity options
include Wi-Fi but it lacks 3G, so if you want 3G, this will be a deal breaker for
you. If you are fine with standard blackberry push mail, messaging, texting and
social networking updates on standard GPRS/EDGE, this is a great device to have.
Overall if you are on a budget but still want a blackberry for email and messaging,
this is the one to choose. It is much better than the earlier generation Blackberry’s
with trackball and older OS.
 CONCLUSION
BlackBerry is no longer making any hardware or manufacturing any devices. The
company is still selling some phones, but only those that were already built. You
can no longer buy a new BlackBerry from BlackBerry

At the end of the day, BlackBerry has “complete control of the software.” Well,
Google still makes Android, but BlackBerry offers its software and apps on top,
including monthly security patches.

BlackBerry delivers a “signed and sealed software image” for every device with its
name on it. The company will also work with the licensee for particular
applications that a given market requires.

“There won’t be anything put on the device that we haven’t approved,” a

Blackberry spokesperson confirmed with VentureBeat. “Anything else has to be
stock downloaded and installed from the Google Play store.”