Bye Bye BlackBerry?

If A is for Apple, B is for BlackBerry. But it looks like we’ll soon have to say B for bye-bye to BlackBerry. What was once a status symbol amongst corporate suits and skirts is facing dire straits. In a recent report on Friday, BB divulged disaster on their balance sheets – losing as much as $1 billion quarterly. This was no surprise as the company had already issued a disclaimer of sorts sometime around last week that their financial reports were going to be anything but pleasant.

If there’s one thing BlackBerry has taught us, it is to develop typing speeds rivaling that of light itself on a QWERTY keypad. It is safe to assume that the first QWERTY keypads anyone would’ve come across would have been on a BB handset.

But, today we’re in the era of touch screen and virtual keypads and this is a major reason why BlackBerry has been losing out in the market; unfortunately, the Z10 did not help make a difference either. Despite these cons, user loyalty has been one pro that has helped BB dominate. There are still those who swear by the brand, testifying to have stuck by a single device for as long as eight to nine years. Whether the manufacturer is ready to leave the market or not, it looks like they are leaving behind a populous of their own. One that has gotten so used to a keyboard to run their fingertips across that they will only begrudging adapt to the existing trend of touching and stroking a flat glass screen.

There are talks about ownership changing hands, but that doesn’t seem to be a solution to jump back into the market and be the giant that the name once was. Let’s wish there is still some hope left for “The BlackBerry Boys and Girls” who “Do chat, and do mail, all on the move.”