From Crackberry to Whackberry, RIM’s smartphone used to be the most wanted phone on the market. From hipster kids to businessmen, its well-established and brisk email system was perfect for working on the move, and BBMing became preferable to texting for those on a tight contract.
I used to feel a hint of resentment a few years ago when people would say "BBM me, here’s my PIN," and I couldn’t join in with this exclusive group because I didn’t have a BlackBerry.
"It’s better than texting because it doesn’t cost anything," the BBMers used to brag.
But then in 2009, an app that can now be found on most smartphones launched onto the scene: WhatsApp.
The messaging service had the same principal as BBM, messaging across the internet through an application, but it could be used on any phone.
All of a sudden, one of the big draws to the BlackBerry didn’t seem quite as juicy any more.
And then there is Instagram. More and more people want to take a photo of every moment of their day, from the outfit they put on in the morning, to the carefully placed salad leaves on their lunch and a cute picture of their pet. Everything is documented, and then made to look retro before sharing it on Instagram.
Unfortunately for BlackBerry, its cameras never did have very good picture quality. It was very much an ancillary feature and not a reason for original purchase. The BlackBerry Bold only has a 5 megapixel camera, whereas the iPhone 5 has 8 megaxels.
So as more people WhatsApp each other and use Instagram, Apple is becoming the fruit of choice when it came to smartphones.
