BlackBerry Limited (BB), known as Research In Motion (RIM) until January 2013, has gone through several cycles of success and failures. Accounting for the 3:1 stock split in Aug. 2007, BlackBerry's stock price has effectively tanked from the highs of $146 to around $4.50 at present.1

The pioneer in bringing email services to handheld mobiles, with its trademark QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry became an instant darling of world leaders, corporate honchos, and the rich and famous alike. Indeed, owning a BlackBerry device was once a status symbol, and BlackBerry addiction was a prevalent condition.

The always-on, always-connected wireless world that allowed secure and reliable access to emails turned out to be very useful for businesses. The first prominent release from BlackBerry, the Inter@ctive Pager 950, was in 1998. It had a small-sized screen, keyboard buttons, and the iconic trackball that allowed seamless syncing and continuous access to corporate emails. It became an instant hit, and then there was no looking back.

In 1999, the company introduced the 850 pager, which supported “push email” from Microsoft Corporation’s (MSFT) exchange server, and in 2000, BlackBerry launched the first smartphone called the BlackBerry 957.

Attributed to the increased use by enterprises and governments, RIM’s revenues grew by leaps and bounds between 1999 and 2001. It continued to expand functionality in the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) and BlackBerry OS. The golden period of 2001 to 2007 saw BlackBerry’s global expansion and the addition of new products to its portfolio. After successfully gaining foothold in the enterprise market, it expanded into consumer market. The BlackBerry Pearl series was very successful, and subsequent releases of Curve and Bold product lines were well received.

Narrated by Tanvi
Edited by Ankit

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