BlackBerry: conclusion of an period as business pulls plug on iconic handsets

BlackBerry telephones - as soon as the head of a cell handset with their trademark actual keyboard - are without problems lifeless from today as the Canadian company in the back of them pulls its help.

as the enterprise warned on its site, the long-lasting devices - which it has now not made considering 2016 - "will not reliably feature" from 4 January, together with for calls and texts.

the fall of the once ubiquitous boardroom equipment has been a long time coming. by 2013, because the mobile world changed with iOS and Android, BlackBerry became posting billion-greenback losses.

graphic: The contraptions have been time-honored because of their actual keyboards and safety points

As currently as the beginning of 2013 a resurrection turned into touted for the business which even purchased an advertising slot all the way through the tremendous Bowl.

however BlackBerry shipped simply 5.9 million telephones within the 2nd quarter of that yr, some distance below the nine million new iPhones Apple managed to sell within the first few days after its launch.

one more nail became hammered into BlackBerry's coffin when WhatsApp dropped its guide for older phones in 2016.

In a weblog post the enterprise referred to: "after we began WhatsApp in 2009, individuals's use of mobile instruments appeared very distinctive from nowadays.

"The Apple App keep was handiest a few months historic. About 70% of smartphones offered on the time had operating techniques offered by means of BlackBerry and Nokia."

through then, BlackBerry had below 1% market share and Apple and Samsung dominated worldwide cell income.

The company itself had completed its transition to a safety software business by means of 2016, which is when it stopped making its own smartphones.

besides the fact that children it determined to continue conserving the software "as an expression of thanks" to loyal companions and purchasers who favored its actual keyboard in addition to its security points.

those features may additionally emerge once again, however the historical phones at the moment are fit for little better than recycling.