[Pearl_Lover]

Please read this and tell me if there are any mistakes, it would be very helpful. i am writing this essay for an English project. Thanks!






The BlackBerry
Origins, Applications, and Impact

Technology has slowly started to rule our lives. No matter where we are, we have access to some sort of technological appliance such as cell phones, iPods, computers or televisions. Anything one could think of that might, in even the slightest way, make our lives easier is now available. So many different types of devices have been conceived and developed that is has become a complicated and confusing decision when trying to choose the right product. Nearly every day, a new version of a cell phone is released, and each one is only a little better than yesterday’s version. When cell phones were first introduced they offered only the basic calling features, slowly moving to text messaging, then e-mail and pictures and now you can even access the Internet. But the newest addition to the category of “cellular devices” is the music player. It’s half mp3 player, half communication system and its all crammed into one ever-shrinking piece of metal. Even as technology expands in the market place, no one device has had every trinket and gadget.... until now.
The BlackBerry was created in 1999 by a Canadian company called Research In Motion (RIM) and it was the first wireless phone to support e-mail, the Internet, faxing and web browsing. It’s also equipped with the basics: text-messaging, telephone, along with memos, calendar, calculator and more. The BlackBerry was designed to target the e-mail user with “push” technology from the computer to the cell phone.
RIM’s founder, Mike Lazaridis, was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and he was only five years old when he and his family moved to Canada. At the age of twelve, Lazaridis won an award for reading every science book in his local library. Years later he enrolled in the University of Waterloo, in 1979. With only two months left before he graduated in 1984, he dropped out because General Motors offered him a contract. From his parents he received a $15,000 loan, and with that Lazaridis, Douglas Fregin, and Mike Barnstijn set in motion their new wireless phone company, Research In Motion.
The BlackBerry name originated by RIM, when one of the people working on a name noticed that the buttons on the device looked “like the tiny seeds in a strawberry” but they thought blackberry flowed better and the name stuck.
Since RIM had their successful debut in 1999, their phones have much improved. Beginning with models 850*, 857, 950 and 970, each model was only capable of e-mail and WAP (Wireless Access Point) services. Then, as later models emerged, the services slowly improved. Currently there are over 46 models of the BlackBerry. Most of the earlier versions were very similar and very few had any distinctive qualities to make them stand out, most were cumbersome and awkward. Not until the nineteenth model was introduced, (model 7500) were there any really drastic changes or improvements introduced. RIM has recently introduced the BlackBerry “Pearl”*, “Gamma Ray” and “Curve” as the newest additions to the BlackBerry line were a great improvement from the original 850 model. Each is equipped with speakerphone, Bluetooth, MicroSD, GPS, QWERTY keyboard and now a media player. The most impressive new feature is the trackball in the center of the phone itself, as compared to the earlier versions where the track wheel was on the side. The BlackBerry focused on the e-mail user, but another useful feature is also text messaging (SMS), which is a simple way to communicate instantaneously with other people, even if they do not have a BlackBerry and it makes sending short messages quickly (and without a sound) a breeze.
But, the greatest impact has been on business and business people. Most businessmen use the BlackBerry because it is so convenient. It has become a workhorse of society as it enables business people to get their important e-mails while they’re on trips or planes straight to their phones.
For an even greater perspective on the growth of technology, look back at the 1300’s as an example. An important message had to be delivered through a person, on foot, or by horse, which could take many months, and there was no way possible to get a message across seas. By the 1800’s, when ships were used to transport mail, a letter could travel overseas and possibly get to the recipient within a few months time. Next, the train was invented and the mail could arrive within a few weeks. Then with the invention of the telegram: a letter was received within a few minutes but still had to be delivered by foot or horse to the end user. Then the airplane, the telephone, Fed Ex and the fax machine made it possible to get important information to its receiver in a shorter amount of time. But more was still to come. Soon thereafter came the computer and along with it, e-mail and the Internet. The only drawback to all these wonderful new inventions was that the sender and the receiver had to be in a workspace or home to operate them. But all that soon changed when the first BlackBerry was introduced and businessmen and women could send, receive or forward any type of e-mail even pictures if they needed to keep their business on track.
Blackberry created the first reliable wireless hand held device to send and receive e-mails on the go. The impact has been profound. Today when a businessperson leaves a meeting, within minutes he or she is able to send a “thank you” note or obtain information that someone may need.
Emergency units can send information or receive information that can save a life. On a more personal level, pictures can be sent from a “senior prom” to the image of a newborn baby. Access to the Internet, news, sports and entertainment is now available when traveling or even on a trip to the grocery store.
The BlackBerry’s impact, application, and origins have made a solid dent in technology worldwide and its effect on the future is beyond most people’s ability to imagine. It certainly is beyond mine.