In the mid 2000s, BlackBerry was undoubtedly the most popular phone in the world. Seemingly everybody had one, and those who didn't, wanted one. The brand held more than 20% of the global market share. What went wrong? How did an iconic brand become obsolete? Listen to find out.
Aug 2025
The rise and fall of BlackBerry
In the early 2000s, BlackBerry was the phone that ruled the world. But within a decade, it collapsed, overtaken by the touch screen revolution.Sam Gruet speaks to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie about BlackBerry’s meteoric rise, its battle against Apple, and the moment he knew it was ... Show More
9m 50s
Jan 2022
Introducing the BlackBerry
Research In Motion were once the world’s most popular maker of smartphones, but when they launched the BlackBerry 850 on 19th January, 1999, the device had no phone functionality: it was marketed as a two-way pager.
However, the gadget’s ability to bounce emails from a desktop se ... Show More
11m 50s
Nov 2021
Blackberry vs iPhone | CrackBerry | 1
It’s September 11, 2001, and the only network running in downtown NYC is the one owned and operated by BlackBerry’s manufacturer, Reserach in Motion. On one of the most devastating days in American history, that unique reliability wins RIM new fans from Wall Street to Capitol Hil ... Show More
25m 10s
Nov 2021
Blackberry vs iPhone | The Smartphone Generation | 5
It’s a GPS! It’s a camera! It’s a computer! It’s...your smartphone. And in 2021, it feels like you can’t live without it. But when Blackberry and iPhone got into the game in the mid-2000s, that wasn’t yet the case. In just 15 years, our technology has changed dramatically — and s ... Show More
26m 9s
Oct 2025
Version History: BlackBerry Messenger
Back when text messages cost 10 cents each, BlackBerry came up with a better way: BlackBerry Messenger, commonly known as BBM. It was the first new idea about messaging in a long time, and it was a huge hit… for a while. Nilay Patel and Joanna Stern join David Pierce to talk abou ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2021
Blackberry vs iPhone | The Jesus Phone | 2
It’s late 2005, and Steve Jobs is deciding between two prototypes for an Apple phone. His choice will go on to become perhaps the best-selling product ever. Now his team just has to make the touchscreen technology work.Thousands of miles away in Waterloo, Canada, Jim Balsillie an ... Show More
25m 5s