A full-screen design is now the norm for current phones, which are operated by touching the screen. Old phones had physical buttons for input control; while new phones feature virtual ones. But there is a small minority of smartphone users who still crave the tactile experience of typing on their phones using a physical keyboard.
There were many high-ranking government officials, business executives, and even students who used BlackBerry phones in the past. Even competing companies such as Nokia, HTC, and Samsung were impacted by their popularity and the company’s trademark QWERTY keyboard.
However, BlackBerry phones have gradually lost their relevance over time. The last time a BlackBerry-branded phone was released was in 2013. Fast forward to 2021, and a new licensee, Onward Mobility, wanted to manufacture a Blackberry smartphone, though the project was halted.
The US-based company said in 2020 that it was going to make a new BlackBerry phone. That year, the company bought the right to make and sell BlackBerry phones. It also revealed some important information about its first device.
Support for 5G, a physical keyboard that’s different from previous models, and Android were enough to get the BlackBerry name back in the news. If you read an official blog post, the phone didn’t come out in 2021 because of “various delays.”
Now, it looks like the phone might never come out at all. As of February 2022, there was a post on Crackberry that confirmed that Onward Mobility’s license was withdrawn.
Who knows? Perhaps, BlackBerry CEO John Chen no longer wants the brand name to be associated with phones anymore. There are also rumours that BlackBerry sold its mobile and texting old patents to Catapult IP, a company in Baltimore, in late January 2022. This may be why the company lost its license.
Truth is, Onward Mobility has not been that transparent about the process of the phone’s manufacture. It has been almost completely silent since it first said that a phone was being made.
Its last public statement was in January 2022, and it said that the phone was still under development. Based on these updates, it doesn’t look like there will be a new BlackBerry smartphone any time soon. It may be time to say goodbye to the BlackBerry brand that once ruled the phone market.
