Now the mobile phone operating system, we count to count, may be a few.
But ten years ago, it was a hundred flowers.
In addition to iOS and Android, there are also a number of interesting systems: Nokia's Symbian, Microsoft's Windows Mobile/Phone, Palm's webOS...
Unfortunately, Saipan, WP, and webOS have disappeared before our eyes.
Recently, the machine brother heard that another mobile phone operating system announced that it was shut down.
This time, it's BlackBerry's BlackBerry OS.
According to the announcement on the Official Website of BlackBerry titled "end-of-life", starting January 4, 2022, service support for Devices equipped with BlackBerry OS will be discontinued.
The most direct impact is that the basic functions of mobile phones such as data Internet access, telephone calls, and text messages will "no longer run reliably."
If you think about it, a mobile phone can't even guarantee these basic functions, and it can almost be said to be cold.
In the early days of the camera circle, many people compared blackBerry to first love. Now that the first love is gone, it is no wonder that many netizens feel very sorry.
In fact, the machine brother checked the records today and found that in 2009, the global market share of the BlackBerry system was as high as 19%.
BlackBerry OS is the second largest mobile operating system in the world after Nokia's Symbian system.
This is in that year, mobile phone manufacturers that can break the wrists of Nokia, Apple, Samsung, HTC and other big manufacturers have more scenery and scenery.
Ten years of Hedong and ten years of Hexi, how can a generation of legends be mixed into such a thing today?
Let's see what it used to be. In those years, What magic machines did BlackBerry do.
In the era of feature phones, under the leadership of Nokia Big Brother, almost everyone is doing 9-square button mobile phones.
BlackBerry inherited the characteristics of their home pager, insisting on a 26-key full keyboard.
(First BlackBerry device: Pager 850)
(BlackBerry's first color screen phone: 7290)
Typing with 26 keys is the same as typing on a computer keyboard, the input efficiency is very high, catering to the needs of business people, and the result is fire.
But the hardware is only one aspect, the most surprising thing is that BlackBerry has thought of binding users with a software ecology 20 years ago...
BlackBerry has a unique secret: BlackBerry wireless email service.
At the time, a lot of people would communicate things by email.
But the most painful thing is that only if you go to the platform specifically, you can see who has emailed you. Isn't that easy to get wrong?
BlackBerry has supported push Mail since 1999. When someone else's email comes over, it can be pushed directly to the phone, and you won't miss every email.
Just like today others send us WeChat, the phone will pop up a notification to remind you. The concept of BlackBerry is very advanced.
In addition to this, also in 1999, BlackBerry has supported schedules, address books, memos... There are also encrypted messages and encrypted messages that were added later.
It can be said that these functions seem to be like a killer, holding business people in place.
And with the full keyboard input of the BlackBerry, it is not difficult to imagine why the BlackBerry can dominate one side.
Later, BlackBerry also poured a lot of things.
For example, the trackball on some models, the machine brother feels that it is a very advanced interactive solution in the functional machine of that year.
It then evolved to an optical trackpad, reducing the possibility of damage.
It can be said that BlackBerry is also a manufacturer of mobile phone interactions.
But, later on, we all know that smartphones with Android and iOS are coming.
Jobs said that the direct interaction between the finger and the screen is the most humane logic.
It was also at that time that BlackBerry's market share declined.
In fact, BlackBerry itself may have long known that BlackBerry OS has been inferior to Android and iOS.
As the saying goes, "If you can't fight, join." ”
So, starting in 2015, BlackBerry announced a transition to Android.
Even he did not produce mobile phones himself, but in 2016, he authorized TCL to produce hardware for BlackBerry mobile phones.
So, when Android smartphones were very hot in the past few years, BlackBerry and TCL let us see what is called a clear stream:
Android + physical keyboard + non-full screen smartphone
It's very punk, like bringing together the products of several generations.
Friends don't say, its recognition is absolutely full.
There are even people who follow this design, like in the past two years, a foreign mobile phone manufacturer called Unichertz has been crowdfunding similar mobile phones:
（Titan Pocket）
It raised more than $500,000 right out of its launch.
It is enough to see that although it is niche, there are still some people who will like this kind of mobile phone.
Unfortunately, BlackBerry himself is doing it, making a "contrary to the ancestors" rule: cutting off the iconic physical keyboard and embracing the trend of full screen.
For example, if the Evolve series released in 2018 is not printed with the BlackBerry logo, it is difficult to see at a glance that this is a BlackBerry phone.
What impressed me was that at the end of 2018, the CEO of BlackBerry said:
One of the mobile phone businesses has been relatively low in the past three quarters, like $5 million. This quarter it was "zero".
I guess he didn't mean that he really didn't sell 1 unit, but that he didn't sell very well.
Perhaps, BlackBerry also wants to catch up with the big troops.
But BlackBerry's actions in recent years have always made the machine brother feel slow and half a beat.
Like in 2019, mainstream Android manufacturers began to launch folding screen mobile phones.
The CEO of BlackBerry said that the appeal of foldable smartphones is limited, and there is not much innovation in the smartphone hardware industry.
In fact, this year's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 two folding screen mobile phones, just sold more than a month, sales broke through a million units.
Then in the middle, The BlackBerry also underwent a change of ownership.
On August 31, 2020, BlackBerry announced the expiration of its partnership with TCL.
The BlackBerry was then handed over to OnwardMobility. But the machine brother felt that there was no improvement.
The simplest example is that this year's mobile phones are almost all 5G mobile phones.
BlackBerry only announced in February that it would launch 5G phones this year.
In July, it was hinted that it would soon cooperate with Foxconn to launch a new 5G machine with a physical keyboard.
(Priority Commitment Program: Book the device and be one of the first to receive the device at launch)
The machine brother pondered, today is the last day of 2021.
BlackBerry 5G new machine, no shadow ... Perfect missed opportunity for 5G adoption.
In this way, BlackBerry and Nokia are really difficult brothers.
In a decade, from the world's first and second, it fell to other (other).
Speaking of which, perhaps many of the friends are very sorry. Isn't It true that BlackBerry can't do it?
Just like Nokia is still the hegemon of the communication field, BlackBerry is still one of the largest manufacturers in other fields.
For example, in recent years, BlackBerry has specialized in intelligent car systems, and it has done a good job.
Their BlackBerry QNX system, as of June, has been carried by 195 million vehicles worldwide.
At last year's CES Technology Show, BlackBerry also released a smart electric motorcycle Hypersport Pro Electric Superbike.
The motorcycle is also equipped with a collision warning system, and the BlackBerry really has yours.
Therefore, the machine brother felt that maybe the BlackBerry mobile phone had fallen, but the BlackBerry transformation to do something else, did a good job, and it was a good thing.
After all, to survive means that there is still hope.
Perhaps, one day in the future, BlackBerry can release a god machine again.