This week, the company stopped supporting its classic devices running BlackBerry 10, 7.1 OS, and earlier.
With its trademark thumb-bang out keyboard and tiny screen, the BlackBerry ushered in the age of smartphones.
There was a method to this madness.
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Having physical keys makes all the difference.
I once edited an issue of a magazine at the top of a ski slope using a BlackBerry.
When you saw someone on a BlackBerry, you knew they were working and not surfing YouTube.
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But this setup is clumsy compared to the stripped-down minimalism of the BlackBerry.
Fewer Distractions
The secret to the success of BlackBerry was more than just its keyboard.
Early models offered a monochrome screen and stripped-down operating system that focused on reading and writing emails.
In some ways, the BlackBerry was the author’s phone.
One South African writerclaims to have writtenan entire novel on his BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry also offered legendary durability and battery life.
Journalist and authorPatrick Blennerhassettused a BlackBerry while traveling through India to research a non-fiction book about the country.
There’s even a nascent minimalist phone movement that in some ways resembles the original purpose of BlackBerry.
Even though I’m nostalgic about BlackBerry, I haven’t used one in over a decade.
But if I were forced to write a novel on my phone, I’d still choose a BlackBerry.
