Farewell, BlackBerry Phones

As of today, BlackBerry has shut down services for their phones running the BBOS and BB10 operating systems, which means they lose most of the core functionality that has allowed them to be usable phones long past their prime.

There are lots of news articles, blog posts, and social media posts about it, so I will try not to get too wordy here. Suffice it to say that I am and always will be a BlackBerry fan, and I dearly miss my beloved physical phone keyboards.

My first BlackBerry device was not actually a phone. It was a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that I bought when they were selling them off for dirt cheap. I didn't have a tablet, so I figured I justify trying out a brand new PlayBook for $200. I actually loved that tablet a lot. So much so that I bought a Curve 8530 smartphone to pair with it. My thumbs instantly fell in love with the Curve's clicky keyboard, and I was hooked.

Over the years, here are the models of BlackBerry phones running their own OS that have passed through my hands (not necessarily in this order):

I have also owned the Android-based PRIV, as well as the TCL-manufactured KEYone, KEY2, and KEY2 LE.

I have used Androids, iPhones, and Windows phones. But none of them have quite captivated me like BlackBerry phones. I have never enjoyed typing on glass, but I can truly say typing on a BlackBerry physical keyboard was delightful and effortless. And BB10 was an excellent OS that was ahead of its time.

During my BlackBerry years, I also met and collaborated with some amazing people who were as interested in the phones as I was, and loved creating video and blog content about them. It was a small but passionate community and it was just fun to be a part of it.

I no longer own any BlackBerry devices. I have long since sold or donated them. But every time I see a photo or video of one, I smile and remember.

#100DaysToOffload (No. 4) #tech #retro