Once-popular BlackBerry Ends Most Phone Service
2022-01-06
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1BlackBerry recently confirmed that as of January 4, 2022, it will no longer support the operating system for its once-popular devices.
2In its "end of life" announcement, the Canadian-based company said older BlackBerry devices would no longer work effectively for phone calls or data services.
3The company did note that some BlackBerry devices using the Android operating system will still work.
4These include models launched from 2015 to 2018, starting with the BlackBerry Priv to the BlackBerry Evolve X.
5The decision to end BlackBerry support was first made public in September 2020.
6That is when company chief John Chen announced that BlackBerry had officially moved from being a device manufacturer to a software developer.
7The company, Chen said, was now centered on providing "security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world."
8That decision followed years of struggles by the company to keep selling BlackBerry devices as competition intensified in the worldwide smartphone market.
9At the height of its popularity, the BlackBerry - with its built-in keyboard - enjoyed a huge market share of the mobile phone market.
10The BlackBerry began to rise in 1999, eight years before Apple launched its first iPhone.
11At the time, the new BlackBerry 850 offered email, wireless data and a traditional keyboard.
12Demand for the new combination devices started to expand.
13They became especially popular with businesspeople and government officials.
14BlackBerry kept adding services and launching new devices through the early 2000s.
15By 2010, the devices held a market share of more than 40 percent, internet data company Comscore reported at the time.
16The company was the leader in the smartphone market, above Apple, Google, Microsoft and Palm.
17The ability of the BlackBerry to keep people connected at all hours even led to the term "crackberry."
18The term was used to describe the dependence and addictive nature of the devices for many individuals.
19But over the next several years, BlackBerry began to experience major drops in sales.
20It was forced to repeatedly delay new product launches.
21By 2016, Comscore reported that BlackBerry's market share had shrunk to just 1 percent.
22At the time, Android-based phones had a share of about 53 percent, while Apple held 43 percent.
23The smartphones offered by Android and Apple appealed to many users who favored the touchscreen designs and an unlimited number of apps.
24The huge fall in popularity was noted in 2016 by one of the biggest fans of the BlackBerry, then-President Barack Obama.
25He pushed for the ability to keep his BlackBerry in the White House after his 2008 election.
26During his presidency, Obama spoke openly about his dependence on his BlackBerry device.
27While speaking with American talk show host Jimmy Fallon in June 2016,
28Obama said, "I was this cool, high-tech guy when I got in... (the White House). And I was the first president to have a BlackBerry."
29But he then added, "So years pass, and no one else has BlackBerries."
30Obama admitted that although he still loved the device and wanted to keep carrying it, he was advised to give it up for a new smartphone.
31In recent years, Chinese electronics company TCL entered a partnership with BlackBerry that permitted it to manufacture and sell the latest BlackBerry-licensed devices.
32Those devices use the Android operating system.
33In early 2020, an American startup company called OnwardMobility announced a plan to launch a 5G BlackBerry device powered by Android.
34The company's website states that the "new BlackBerry 5G smartphones" were expected to be available in 2021.
35The website provides no other details but offers interested parties the chance to sign up to stay informed.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1BlackBerry recently confirmed that as of January 4, 2022, it will no longer support the operating system for its once-popular devices. In its "end of life" announcement, the Canadian-based company said older BlackBerry devices would no longer work effectively for phone calls or data services. 2The company did note that some BlackBerry devices using the Android operating system will still work. These include models launched from 2015 to 2018, starting with the BlackBerry Priv to the BlackBerry Evolve X. 3The decision to end BlackBerry support was first made public in September 2020. That is when company chief John Chen announced that BlackBerry had officially moved from being a device manufacturer to a software developer. The company, Chen said, was now centered on providing "security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world." 4That decision followed years of struggles by the company to keep selling BlackBerry devices as competition intensified in the worldwide smartphone market. At the height of its popularity, the BlackBerry - with its built-in keyboard - enjoyed a huge market share of the mobile phone market. 5The BlackBerry began to rise in 1999, eight years before Apple launched its first iPhone. At the time, the new BlackBerry 850 offered email, wireless data and a traditional keyboard. Demand for the new combination devices started to expand. They became especially popular with businesspeople and government officials. 6BlackBerry kept adding services and launching new devices through the early 2000s. By 2010, the devices held a market share of more than 40 percent, internet data company Comscore reported at the time. The company was the leader in the smartphone market, above Apple, Google, Microsoft and Palm. 7The ability of the BlackBerry to keep people connected at all hours even led to the term "crackberry." The term was used to describe the dependence and addictive nature of the devices for many individuals. 8But over the next several years, BlackBerry began to experience major drops in sales. It was forced to repeatedly delay new product launches. By 2016, Comscore reported that BlackBerry's market share had shrunk to just 1 percent. At the time, Android-based phones had a share of about 53 percent, while Apple held 43 percent. 9The smartphones offered by Android and Apple appealed to many users who favored the touchscreen designs and an unlimited number of apps. 10The huge fall in popularity was noted in 2016 by one of the biggest fans of the BlackBerry, then-President Barack Obama. He pushed for the ability to keep his BlackBerry in the White House after his 2008 election. During his presidency, Obama spoke openly about his dependence on his BlackBerry device. 11While speaking with American talk show host Jimmy Fallon in June 2016, Obama said, "I was this cool, high-tech guy when I got in... (the White House). And I was the first president to have a BlackBerry." 12But he then added, "So years pass, and no one else has BlackBerries." Obama admitted that although he still loved the device and wanted to keep carrying it, he was advised to give it up for a new smartphone. 13In recent years, Chinese electronics company TCL entered a partnership with BlackBerry that permitted it to manufacture and sell the latest BlackBerry-licensed devices. Those devices use the Android operating system. 14In early 2020, an American startup company called OnwardMobility announced a plan to launch a 5G BlackBerry device powered by Android. The company's website states that the "new BlackBerry 5G smartphones" were expected to be available in 2021. The website provides no other details but offers interested parties the chance to sign up to stay informed. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and BlackBerry. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18___________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20enterprise - n. a business or organization 21keyboard - n. a set of keys on a computer that a user presses to make it work 22addictive - adj. making a person want so much of something that they become dependent, or addicted to it 23touchscreen - n. a computer or device screen that you touch to access information, buy something, etc. 24app - n. a computer program that carries out a specific job, especially on a mobile device 25license - v. give someone official permission to do or have something