Blackberry is back. This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who follows the tech industry.What is surprising, though, is the degree to which the once-struggling cell phone manufacturer has recovered.
For the longest time, Blackberry – formerly Research In Motion – was the preferred smart phone manufacturer of working professionals everywhere. The ease with which Blackberry devices could manage inboxes, schedule meetings and edit documents was unparalleled in the industry. In the days of the Palm OS and the nascent Windows Mobile, the berry was the undisputed champion.
But then smart phones started to take control of the market, and Blackberry’s hold on the market began to slip. While Android and Apple introduced new and innovative products to consumers, Blackberry stuck with its guns. With the exception of the Storm, the company ignored touch screen technology and continued to churn out the same keyboard-and-control-ball slabs that made it famous.
Consequently, many of the die-hard Blackberry fans began to lose the faith. They jumped ship and began to embrace the newer, trendier iPhones and Droid platforms. By June of 2012, Blackberry’s sales had fallen off by 43% in just one quarter, causing many to question the future of the company.
But now Blackberry has charged back in the market with a new line of touch screen phones and a snazzy new OS deemed “Blackberry 10.” The reviews of the revitalized platform have so far have been largely positive, with many experts reaching the consensus that the new swipe-based interface is more than enough to contend with the market leaders Android and iPhone. And if you’re one of the working stiffs who longs for their Blackberry Curve like myself, there are plenty of reasons to stop your affair with Samsung phones and return to the loving embrace of the berries.
First of all, Blackberry Messenger (BBM) is back and better than ever. The chat service is still the most secure in the industry and has been updated to include a video chat function and a new keyboard with a predictive text function similar to the iPhone’s.
Additionally, the new system comes equipped with a prefabbed document editor, saving you the time and expense of having to download your own. There is also a new camera feature as well. Deemed “Blackberry Time Shift,” the invention sets the camera to quick-fire mode, allowing users to scroll through a series of captured images to select the best one. And speaking of shifts, there is also a new feature that allows users to switch their entire interfaces from “home” to “work.” Switching from one to the other will replace your saved contacts, saved messages, home screens and more. It’s like having two different phones on one device.
However, Blackberry’s most useful invention – as far as working professionals are concerned – is the new Hub. Blackberry Hub is a comprehensive communications manager. It stores your emails, texts, social media updates and BBM messages all on a single timeline. Best of all, it includes a “Peek” feature that allows you to read any notifications without closing the app you happen to be using at the time. So you can start writing an email, check a message that your boss sent you and then go immediately back to the email without any downtime.
The biggest downside to the new Blackberry 10 OS is that it doesn’t have the same offering of apps that iOS and Android do at the moment. There are currently over 70,000 apps available on the Blackberry market, which may sound like a lot but is only a tenth of the offerings of the industry leaders. From a professional standpoint, though, this shouldn’t be a huge concern.
What should be a huge concern is the system’s ability to manage workflow efficiently, which it does with all the grace and glory of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Blackberry 10 is the undisputed champion of multitasking and communications management. And with the new, attractive interface it should be a hit with many of Blackberrry’s diasporic faithful.
So if your office is due for a set of new phones, definitely take a look at the generation Blackberries. They could be the breath of fresh, mobile air your company has been looking for.
