These past few years I always wonder why the exciting Motorola interactive pager that I experienced sometime in 1997 or 1998 in the US ceased to become anything big that dominate the marketplace. From personal experience, I still crisply remember how the Motorola interactive pager was really a great device. It was impressive.
Back then, the device was about the size of a 'pager' (a 'slightly thicker pager' we call it), and -- in a very useful way -- we can use it to interactively update, communicate and coordinate our activities in organizing big conference events that involves thousands of people.
While wondering about that Motorola 'interactive pager' (and what lead to its 'demise'), I also always wonder when (and how) Blackberry get started, in which market it penetrate, and how it creep up the marketplace.
These question stays at the back of my mind for a few years. I am totally 'clueless' about it. I always wonder about it. Throughout the years, I seriously wonder why the Motorola great product ceased to mature in the marketplace, and where/when 'suddenly' RIM/Blackberry appear ...
... until today I found this info:
"Prior to the manufacture of the BlackBerry, RIM worked with RAM Mobile Data and Ericsson to turn the Ericsson-developed Mobitex wireless data network into a two-way paging and wireless e-mail network. Pivotal in this development was the release of the Inter@ctive pager 950, which started shipping in August 2000. About the size of a bar of soap, this device competed against the SkyTel two-way paging network developed by Motorola.
Oh! Now I understand where the RIM/Blackberry root's come from. Now I can see -- a bit -- of the picture of what's going on (in the past). The two things -- the Motorola interactive pager I am talking about, and the RIM/Blackberry device I am wondering about -- actually correlates to each other!
Not only they are related to each other, they competed to each other too!
Seems that somewhere in the past, Motorola innovate and rules, then RIM comes into act. Eventually -- as the future goes -- Blackberry is the one that becomes more able to take idea forward, own it, innovate it further, hence eventually dominate the market almost entirely, especially as the platform switch from pagers, ... to phones ... to smartphones!
Some more facts:
In its early stage of development and presence in the market, Blackberry was available on RAM Mobile Data (originally founded by RAM Broadcasting Corporation as American Mobile Data Communications, Inc. in 1988) & Ericsson Mobitex wireless data network. Later on, RAM Mobile Data was sold and renamed BellSouth Wireless Data in 1995 and later became Cingular Interactive when BellSouth and SBC formed Cingular Wireless.
Such gives us a strong background root and understanding of where Blackberry come from! It also gives an idea why initially Blackberrys eventually always appear in Cingular ads! As the history shows: BellSouth and SBC formed Cingular Wireless.
As the history later fascinatingly goes:
Cingular Wireless later on acquired the old AT&T Wireless; SBC later acquired the original AT&T and re-branded as "the new AT&T". Cingular became wholly-owned by the new AT&T in December 2006 as a result of AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth.
and ...
Cingular -- in January 2007 -- confirmed it would itself rebrand under the AT&T moniker. The corporate name change occurred immediately, although, for regulatory and brand-awareness reasons, both brands were used in the wireless unit's signage and advertising during a transition period. The transition concluded in late June, just prior to the rollout of the Apple iPhone.
It is this (new) AT&T that later on brings us the iPhone!, the 'exclusive device' that consumer (in the US) can get only from AT&T, very similar to the way 'Blackberry' was Cingular's 'exclusive device' in the past.
Oh, how these tiny innovators in wireless portable working device -- RIM Blackberry (and its underlying 'Blackberry carriers') -- have transformed in the past 10 years, and become huge, in the process!
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