To some it may seem like the Blackberry came out of no where and became an over-night success, defining what wireless communication should be. However, did you know RIM was founded in 1984 by two University of Waterloo students. Yes, unbelievably RIM has been around for over 20 years. Since the beginning RIM has focused on wireless technology creating various wireless products like a wireless Point-of-Sale, wireless Modem, and wireless PCMCIA cards. The Blackberry, RIM’s cash cow didn’t come to fruition until 1998 and the rest is history. We wanted to do something fun so with the help of archive.org we are going to revisit RIM circa 1999.
When RIM first launched its wireless email device they called it the ‘Inter@ctive Pager’ but would later brand the device as ‘Blackberry’. Good thing, because ‘Inter@ctive Crack Pager’ or ‘Inter@ctive Pager Thumbs’ doesn’t sound as catchy as ‘Crackberry’ or ‘Blackberry Thumbs’. There were no voice capabilities for the first Blackberry devices, thus the reason they used the term pager. Most people didn’t mind it at all, the new Blackberry device would garner tons of accolades and awards. Some awards include, Emmy Award for Technical Innovation, Outlook Award, Mobile Computing Best Pager, and C|Net’s Editor’s Pick. Here is what C|Net had to say:
When we first reviewed two-way pagers in July, Research in Motion’s Inter@ctive Pager 900 squeaked by the competition to win our Editors’ Choice award. The updated version, the Inter@ctive Pager 950, is even better. It’s more compact (you don’t have to fold it out), a brand-new interface makes it much easier to use, and a jog-dial switch takes you through the menus quickly and intuitively. And it still boasts nearly instantaneous send and receive times and excellent service prices.
Pages: 1 2
