Mobility
BlackBerry 10 is just around the corner, but before it arrives take a look at the handsets that made RIM a titan in the enterprise space. Will its next batch of handsets be enough to get businesses and consumers back on side?
In September 2006, RIM introduced the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, its first real effort to attract consumer attention to its wares after dominating the business market.
Alongside its SureType keyboard, 64MB of memory (with support for microSD expansion), 2.25-inch colour screen and integrations of RIM's now notable enterprise features it was also the first BlackBerry handset to offer a camera (1.3-megapixel!) and a media player application.
It also replaced RIM's well-worn thumbpad with a trackball for more precise operation for the first time; a feature that would become a staple of other RIM devices.
A later model (the 8120) was the first Pearl to offer the option of Wi-Fi. Another model, the 8220, was called the Pearl Flip (perhaps a response to the success of the Razr V3 the previous year) and was the first of RIM's clamshell chassis handsets.
The day before the 8100 was announced, RIM's stock price stood at $81, and it actually had a small decrease on the 7 September, but by the end of the month, on 26 September, RIM's shares closed above $100 for the first time: $102.65, to be exact.
With staple consumer features like a camera and media playback functionality, RIM started to make headway in the consumer market thanks to the Pearl, which remains one of the company's bestselling handsets of all time.
By the end of December the share price had reached around $128 as RIM continued to show a dominance and understanding of the business handset and services market, as well as increased success with consumer buyers. However, Apple's iPhone was yet to launch.
Caption by: Ben Woods
Join Discussion