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blackberry ((2))
DCHP-2 (Nov 2015)
Spelling variants:BlackBerry, Blackberry
1n. — proprietary, Industry
a type of cell phone created by RIM (Research In Motion), now BlackBerry.
Type: 1. Origin — In 1998, Canadian telecommunication company Research In Motion (RIM) introduced the BlackBerry handheld device, which is generally considered to be the first smart phone. The BlackBerry grew in popularity internationally in the early and mid 2000s, and by 2007 RIM was the most valuable Canadian company, with sales of $3 billion (Canadian Encyclopedia reference). The device, with its signature physical keyboard, was so popular that it was nicknamed "CrackBerry", because users felt they were addicted to it (see, e.g. the 2000 quotation). By 2012, demand for the device began to drop as other technologies (iPhone) were taken up by the market. The device is said to be named after the berry, because the keys of the device somewhat resemble the drupelets of the blackberry.
Quotations
1999
Now Research in Motion, which went public in a $115 million Cdn deal in 1997, is banking on its own paging device that is guaranteed to pick up and send e-mail in North America and even help you organize your life with personal management software.
In a recent interview, Balsillie hailed the company's newest product, called BlackBerry and launched last week, as "wearable e- mail."
"E-mail is becoming the primary means of communication in companies, and you need to get your e-mail, respond to it, query things," said Balsillie, who has an MBA from Harvard.
The device is a pager about the size of your palm. It sports a small screen and a keyboard with tiny oval buttons, prompting the moniker BlackBerry.
Most people tend to nestle it in both hands and then type with their thumbs, up to 40 or more words a minute.
It is powered by an Intel 386 chip (which many years ago ran personal computers) and runs on a single AA [...]
2000
Everyone from U.S. vice-president Al Gore to Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates to movie actor Matt Damon is crazy about the BlackBerry, a combination pager and keyboard that lets users fire off a typed e-mail from the beach, rush-hour traffic or an airport runway. More than 6,000 companies, including Salomon Smith Barney, have adopted the diminutive device for all or part of their staff.
Wall Street investment bankers have coarsely dubbed the five-ounce gadget the "CrackBerry" for its addictive qualities -- attributes that prompt its devotees to fiddle with it constantly, even surreptitiously conducting e-mail conversations in meetings, airplanes and elevators.
2006
Assistant coach Doug Bodger, in his daily report via his blackberry, indicated the Caps were shorthanded most of the first period but still outshot Quesnel 7-4.
2009
He is currently the deputy minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Fadden grabbed headlines in 2008 when he implemented a BlackBerry "blackout" between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. for CIC employees, saying he was trying to re-establish a balance between work and personal life for the department.
2v. — dated, Urban culture
to send a message with a BlackBerry phone.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — The use of the word as a verb came early but did not become a thoroughly entrenched verb, unlike to google.
Quotations
2003
Text messaging has become so pervasive that the gadget's trade name is being used as a verb. Jane O'Hara, press secretary for Barbara Hall, says it's normal to "BlackBerry" campaign colleagues during debates to monitor how the candidate is doing. While she considers it "cretinous" to use the word this way, Ms. O'Hara says it underscores the importance of the device to anyone who uses it regularly.
2005
The significance of this event is not just the lameness of Martin's response ("I'm not in a position to comment on the fuel consumption of the plane,") but also this: Reporters traveling with one leader are often BlackBerried by the other side with information. The Conservatives were well enough organized to send accurate and timely information to expose the disconnect between [Martin]'s honeyed words on climate change and his deeds. In contrast, the Liberals BlackBerried reporters that [Stephen Harper] "does not love this country," a notion as empty as it was absurd.
2009
Hollywood offered a cautionary story with the depressing Seven Pounds, which begins with Will Smith spoiling his perfect life when he BlackBerrys while driving in his fancy car with his gorgeous new fiance. He crashes into another car, killing six strangers and his girlfriend. The movie ends with a poisonous jellyfish in an icy bathtub. Don't ask.
References
- The Canadian Encyclopedia • "BlackBerry Limited"
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