BlackBerry, once the leader in mobile communications devices, has had a rough time lately. Back in the days when the iPhone first came out BlackBerry was convinced that their devices running their operating system (OS) had nothing to worry about.
By the time they realized the iPhone, and at the time a young Android, were actually a possible threat BlackBerry's answer was BlackBerry Storm. The Storm was unique at the time in that it featured a physically clickable screen, something that the current generation of iPhone has announced. I had a Storm. It ran the BlackBerry OS and was a solid piece of hardware but it was the absolute worst experience I've ever had with a mobile device. It was underpowered and crashed often. My wife, at the time, had a BlackBerry "Pearl" 9130 and loved it for the physical keyboard. By the time I switched to an Android powered Motorola Droid my wife took the plunge also to switch. The Storm was so bad that I vowed to never consider BlackBerry devices again. I understand the Storm 2 wasn't as bad but it was way to late for me.
Fast forward to 2013 and BlackBerry introduces their BB10 OS. It was bit of a departure from their older OS but it has its fans. It wasn't enough to turn the tide though. BlackBerry sales continued to plummet and last year they reported only 800,000 devices sold. That is a drop in the bucket considering that new iPhones sell in the millions in a single
day when they are released. What BlackBerry still has going for it, perhaps the only thing, is the BlackBerry business server backend platform that is used by various governments, including the US Gov't, as it offers increased data security.
In what has to be one of the worst kept secrets in the tech world lately, BlackBerry has announced that their new "Priv" phone will be running Android with BlackBerry apps, like BB Messenger, pre-loaded. What makes the new Priv unique is that at first glance it looks like a typical Android phone but it is actually an old-school slider with the classic BlackBerry keyboard ready to use. The screen slides so the keyboard is at the bottom of the screen.
The Priv is expected to be released later this year. The current BB CEO has also revealed that they are working with Google to bring the BlackBerry security services to Android and that if that platform is adopted by it's major government customers then it well very well mean the end of the BlackBerry OS.