BlackBerry was born on 19 July 2025, with the release of the BlackBerry 850. In the immediate years that followed, the brand grew exponentially, offering something all its competitors couldn’t touch: Emails on the go. In its heyday, it offered some of thebest smartphones on the planet.
Even if you didn’t own a BlackBerry yourself, you can bet your bottom dollar that you knew someone who did, or that you would at least see one in the hands of someone else on a regular basis. That physical QWERTY keyboard with its tap, tap, tapping could be heard in every train carriage and on every plane. It wasn’t just about emailing on the go though. You also had BBM - BlackBerry’s Instant Messenger service.
It might be all aboutWhatsAppnow, but BBM had read receipts down donkeys years ago. It was yet another unique reason to buy a BlackBerry, appealing to a range of people, not just those in suits. Sadly, those days are gone, and while BlackBerry may still have handful of dedicated users, it’s now effectively dead as a smartphone maker.
In 2016, BlackBerry announced that it would no longer be making devices of its own, with TCL picking up the license. In 2020,TCL’s license endedonly to be picked up immediately after by unknown entity, OnwardMobility. In 2021, OnwardMobilityteamed up with the manufacturer, FIH Mobile, and announced plans to release a 5G BlackBerry. Sadly, OnwardMobility shut down, taking with it any plans to launch said phones and join the ranks of thebest Android phoneson the market.
Still, with the BlackBerry movie having premiered in May 2023, you might just want a trip down memory lane again, to remember the good times provided by the once-dominant smartphone manufacturer.
Enjoy looking back at some of the models from days past. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of BlackBerry devices, from its origins to its last ever phone (probably).
BlackBerry 850
This was BlackBerry’s first handheld device and it sat within the two-way pager category, along with a few others including the 857, 900, 950, 957 and 962.
The BlackBerry 850 was announced in 1999 with a screen resolution of 132 x 65 pixels, a thumb keyboard and a thumbwheel for scrolling.
BlackBerry 5810
The Blackberry 5810 was one of the early Java-based devices, offering a built-in mobile phone, even if a headset was required. It launched in 2002, aimed at businesses rather than consumers.
The 5810 ran on a 2G network and had a 160 x 160 pixel monochrome display. There was also the 5790 and 5820 in the 5000 series.
BlackBerry 6710
The BlackBerry 6710 was one of the 6000 series, also announced in 2002. It was one of the first to offer an integrated phone and featured a large monochrome display with a 160 x 160 pixels.
There was also the 6720 and 6750 in this series, all of which launched in 2002.
BlackBerry 6210
The BlackBerry 6210 arrived in 2003, along with the 6220, 6230 and 6280. These too had an integrated phone but they offered a medium monochrome display rather than large like the models launched in 2002.
Their resolutions stood at 160 x 100. There was also a 6510 model that had an integrated phone and integrated two-way radio. Navigation was via the side thumbwheel and these BBs were a common sight, as email really took to the streets.
BlackBerry 7290
The BlackBerry 7290 was one of the 7000 series, some of which were released in 2003, with a few more in 2004. They were the first colour models switching the monochrome display over to offer a medium screen with a 240 x 160 resolution or a large one with 240 x 240 pixels.
The BlackBerry 7290 was one of the first to offer Bluetooth, arriving in 2004. The 7270 also introduced WLAN 802.11b. Most of the models in the 7000 series had 16MB of storage - a little different from today.
BlackBerry 7100
The BlackBerry 7100 series consisted of several models, all of which offered what BlackBerry called a SureType keyboard. Rather than the traditional QWERTY keyboard, they had a QWERTY-like layout but used two letters per button, allowing the devices to become much slimmer.
The 7100 series were therefore a similar size to other competing devices on the market so they were the first main BlackBerry models pushed to consumers, rather than just businesses. They had 240 x 260 resolution displays.
BlackBerry 8700
The BlackBerry 8700 series models introduced in 2005/2006 added more consumer features, such as better displays. They came with large 320 x 240 pixel screens offering 65K colour depth.
These models featured the full QWERTY keyboard format, making them wider again compared to the 7100 series.
BlackBerry Pearl
TheBlackBerry Pearlwas the first BlackBerry to lose the track wheel for navigating around the display. Instead, it featured a mini trackball in the centre of its five-button wide keyboard and this was to revolutionise device navigation.
The 8100 was the first Pearl model and it arrived with a 1.3-megapixel camera, as well as microSD support for up to 8GB expansion, ringtones and a media player. This model, and the Pearl models that followed, all featured a 240 x 260 resolution display, but they upped their camera to 2-megapixels.
BlackBerry Curve
The BlackBerry Curve first arrived in 2007 with the 8300 (pictured). There were a couple of variations, most of which had a 2-megapixel camera, the trackball interface found on the Pearl and a 320 x 240 resolution display.
A couple changed things up a bit with a higher resolution display, as well as extra features. The Curve offered the wider format, with a full QWERTY keyboard and instantly found consumer favour thanks to its low price and wide range of smartphone features.
BlackBerry Pearl Flip
The BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip was announced in 2008 with a clamshell form factor. It had an internal display of 240 x 320 and an external display of 128 x 160 pixels.
The same trackball interface as the original Pearl series was present, along with a 2-megapixel camera, 128MB internal memory and microSD support up to 16GB.
