BlackBerry officially retires

It’s the end of an era for BlackBerry users.

Today, the company who made its QWERTY keypad a culture phenomenon is officially decommissioning the use of its software.

This means the classic Blackberry devices running on the company’s operating system will no longer work.

“The legacy services for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions, will no longer be available after Jan 4, 2022. “As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 functionality. “We thank our many loyal customers and partners over the years,” said the company in a statement dated December 22, 2021.

New BlackBerry devices running on Android software will continue to work from now on.

This statement was an update from an earlier one on Sept 9, 2020 where BlackBerry chief executive John Chen said the company was transitioning to become a software company and withdrawing all its legacy services.

BlackBerry launched its final version of its operating system in 2013 and started phasing out devices between 2016 and 2020, as reported by CNN. Meanwhile, The New York Times said BlackBerry stopped manufacturing its own smartphones in 2016.

BlackBerry was among the first on-the-go email devices and a favourite among the corporate world.

It became a hit among Malaysians between 2010 to 2013 before the touch screen took over. Prior to WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger, famously known as the BBM would be the main instant texting application.

Goodbye, BlackBerry. You will be remembered.