Why BlackBerry is Still Worth Your Attention
If someone whipped out a BlackBerry beside you, what would your reaction be? I’m not talking about the old BlackBerrys from 2006; I’m talking about the popular Q10, the throw-back PRIV, or even the relatively new KeyOne. If you’re like 90% of the people that see me pull out my PRIV, you would be surprised that BlackBerry still existed.
Back in 2008, BlackBerry took a dive in the stock market and lost the popularity it held throughout society. The once famous QWERTY-toting line of phones fell victim to the newly released iPhone and the popularity it held. BlackBerry, still named Research in Motion at the time, believed that the iPhone would just target the general public who used phones like the Motorola RAZR or the Samsung Slide, while BlackBerry’s audience would be untouched. The growing Apple App store turned the tables though, and after Android joined the party, BlackBerry had nearly gone under.
Ever since, BlackBerry has held the reputation of being a “bad brand”. The thing is, though, that BlackBerry has improved greatly as a company since their disastrous year in 2008. In 2013, when John Chen was appointed as BlackBerrys new CEO, the company began moving forward and rebuilding. This trend continued until 2017, when BlackBerry sold licenses to three companies, notably TCL Corporation. This decision was to allow BlackBerry to focus on security software, while TCL began releasing phones like the DTEK series, the KeyOne, the Motion, and possibly Optiemus’ (a BlackBerry licensee focused in India) Ghost Pro on the North American market.
Now I will admit that the ten phones I researched did not receive the incredible reception that any of the iPhone models, the Galaxy S models, or LG’s G series have. This being said, BlackBerry would be better grouped in with manufacturers like Huawei and HTC who compose the “silver medal phones”. BlackBerrys recent phones have averaged around 7.5, or three and a half stars out of five, from critics.
BlackBerry stands out in the mid-level phone market though, as BlackBerry brand phones have been packed with exceptional hardware ever since the PRIV. For example, the DTEK 60 has a 21MP rear-facing camera, the PRIV has an impressive 3410 mAh battery (compared to the 2716 mAh and 3000 mAh batteries of the iPhone X and S9, respectively), and most importantly, you can still add a micro-SD card to enhance the storage capacity of any of their phones.
Arguably the sole reason for BlackBerry’s fall from popularity was their operating system. The BB7 OS was very business-oriented, and lacked the library of games and social apps that are were lifeblood of every popular smartphone. BB10 began to adapt, allowing users to load select Android apps onto their device, but it wasn’t until the PRIV that BlackBerry solved the issue. Beginning in 2015, BlackBerry (and now TCL) began putting Android OS onto the devices being released, eliminating the issue of the lack of apps.
Now the BlackBerry name is similar to that of Samsung or LG; rather than a third smartphone OS tribe, BlackBerry is now simply a brand name. I don’t expect hordes of fans to flock back to BlackBerry, but I do advocate for the value in BlackBerry devices. Free of a recent history concerning battery-life scandals or exploding hardware, BlackBerry is a workhorse-oriented brand name that holds up to its former glory. It may not be on the cutting edge, but BlackBerry is a reliable brand that doesn’t increase prices because of a name. A brand new, unlocked phone (which can save you money on your plan) will run you $650 max, and will last as long as any other phone you’re probably looking at right now.
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