BlackBerry Curve 8520, Bold 9000 to Passport: A look at iconic BB devices

The fact that government officials still use BlackBerry is a testament that it continues to be the most secure smartphone out there. BlackBerry may have called it a day when it comes to making its own phones, but the company bought some of the most important devices to the smartphone industry, which were ahead of its time.

Here is our look at five BlackBerry smartphones that stood out.

1. BlackBerry Bold 9000: In May 2008, BlackBerry designed the ideal enterprise smartphone with Bold 9000. As the name implies, it reflected a bold statement and a design that stands out even today. It had a physical QWERTY keyboard that was second to none in terms of response, and that jogwheel in the centre is something the world would keep talking about for years. BlackBerry Bold 9000 became an instant hit among enterprise users where push mails and security were weighed as a primary feature.

2. BlackBerry Curve 8520: With Curve 8520, BlackBerry expanded itself from enterprise to consumer segment. It was a true smartphone with BBM and instant push notification and a price that was considered cheap back then. The smartphone got an optical trackpad instead of trackball and ran BlackBerry OS 5.0. The smartphone lasted well past a day with its 1,150mAh battery.

Also Read: BlackBerry will stop making and designing its own smartphones

3. BlackBerry Torch 9810: BlackBerry stayed ambitious with its smartphone business while iPhone kept expanding its app base. In 2011, BlackBerry stunned the world with the design of its Torch 9810 smartphone. The Torch series was unlike anything else that came before it. It had a 3.2-inch capacitive touch display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. While the device didn’t really set the sales record on fire, it showed the Canadian smartphone maker was not shying away from competing.

BlackBerry Passport moved from regular rectangular design to square form factor

4. BlackBerry Z10: With Z10, BlackBerry conceded to market demands by launching its first touch only device. The device almost killed physical QWERTY keyboards and focused on intelligent word suggestions. With Z10, BlackBerry also delivered one of the most intuitive virtual keyboard of all time. However, the smartphone was launched too late to become a real hit and could not challenge the growing domination of Android and iOS.

5. BlackBerry Passport: Exactly two years back, BlackBerry once again wowed the world with Passport. Passport turned rectangular smartphone to square and forced the world to take note. It offered a QWERTY keyboard paired with 4.5-inch high resolution display. BlackBerry went a step further in terms of technology with this device. BlackBerry added a sensitive touch recognition to the keyboard which enabled to add words with swipe gesture. But while BlackBerry Passport was really unique, it had very few takers.