Important milestones in the history of RIM to BlackBerry transition

31 Jan 2013, 01:40 PM IST

1 / 12 Important milestones in the history of RIM to BlackBerry transition Text: Reuters



Research In Motion Ltd has launched its new line of re-engineered BlackBerry smartphones, taking the wraps off the long-delayed devices at a series of events around the world on Wednesday.



The company used the occasion to announce that it was changing its name to BlackBerry, hoping a new brand identity will polish its tarnished image and help give it a fresh start.





2 / 12 Eelectronics and computer science business February 1985 - Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin co-found Research In Motion as an electronics and computer science business based in Waterloo, Ontario, the Canadian university city where Lazaridis studied.



1989 - RIM develops a network gateway later introduced as RIMGate, a predecessor to its BlackBerry Enterprise Server.



1992 - Jim Balsillie joins RIM as co-CEO, mortgaging his house and investing $250,000.





3 / 12 RIM devices 1994 - RIM launches a handheld point-of-sale card reader, which verifies debit and credit transactions directly to a bank.



1995 - RIM builds its own radio modem for wireless email.



1997 - RIM lists on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raising more than $115 million.



January 1999 - RIM launches rebranded BlackBerry email service across North America, offering the first wireless device to synch with corporate email systems. Sales jump 80 percent to $85 million. The next year revenue reaches $221 million.

4 / 12 RIM introduced BlackBerry 850 in 1999 Late 1999 - The company lists its shares on Nasdaq, raising another $250 million. RIM introduces BlackBerry 850 Wireless Handheld, combining email, wireless data networks and a traditional "Qwerty" keyboard. Demand explodes.



Sept 11, 2001 - People trapped in New York's World Trade Center use their BlackBerrys to communicate after cellular networks collapse.



November 2001 - NTP sues RIM for patent infringement, the start of a five-year legal tussle. Late in the battle, the US Justice Department says a threatened BlackBerry shutdown would damage the public interest due to the government's reliance on the system.



In Pic: RIM 850 Wireless Handheld

5 / 12 BlackBerry devices 2002 - RIM adds voice transmission to the BlackBerry.



2004 - RIM's subscriber base surpasses 1 million BlackBerry users.



March 2006 - RIM pays $612 million to settle NTP dispute.



January 2007 - Apple Inc's Steve Jobs unveils first iPhone, and the company launches the BlackBerry competitor in June. Time magazine honors the phone as Invention of the Year.



In Pic: BlackBerry devices

6 / 12 RIM introduced the Bold in 2008 October 2007 - RIM passes 10 million subscribers. News of a China distribution deal boosts shares, making it for a time the most valuable company in Canada by market capitalization.



November 2007 - Google's open source Android platform is unveiled. It launches in October 2008.



May 2008 - RIM introduces the Bold, a major redesign and still one of its top-tier products. The new model matches the resolution, but not size, of Apple's iPhone screen.



July 2008 - Apple opens App Store in 22 countries and releases iPhone 3G, preloaded with App Store support.

7 / 12 RIM launched BlackBerry Storm in 2008 November 2008 - RIM launches BlackBerry Storm, its first touchscreen and keyboard-less device. The screen uses a tactile feedback technology known as haptics, allowing a user to click down to select actions. The model bombs.



April 2009 - RIM's App World goes live.



June 2009 - Apple announces and releases iPhone 3GS.



In Pic: BlackBerry Storm

8 / 12 RIM launched BlackBerry Torch in 2010 June 2010 - RIM pays C$200 million for QNX Software Systems, getting an industrial-strength operating system used in massive Internet routers, nuclear power plants and car infotainment systems. In same month Apple launches iPhone 4.



August 2010 - RIM launches BlackBerry Torch, a touchscreen phone with slide-out keyboard and improved web browser.



Sept 27, 2010 - RIM announces the PlayBook tablet, running on a version of the QNX system.

9 / 12 RIM acquired The Astonishing Tribe December 2010 - RIM acquires user interface company The Astonishing Tribe.



February 2011 - Nokia, the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume, abandons its Symbian operating system to form alliance with Microsoft Corp.



March 2, 2011 - Apple unveils iPad 2 and ships it later in the same month.



In Pic: The Astonishing Tribe

10 / 12 PlayBook launched in US in 2011 April 19, 2011 - RIM launches PlayBook in United States and Canada. Early reviews pan the tablet for lacking core BlackBerry functions such as email and organizer functions. The company says it plans to add them in February 2012.



April 28, 2011 - RIM slashes an already dismal financial forecast for current quarter but maintains a full-year earnings outlook of $7.50 a share.



June 16, 2011 - RIM misses its lowered quarterly revenue target, gives more limp forecasts and resets the full-year outlook to between $5.25 and $6 a share. It says it will slash more than 10 percent of its workforce and buy back stock.

11 / 12 The huge writedown on PlayBook Oct 10-13, 2011 - Millions of BlackBerry users on five continents are left without email, Internet and instant messaging service by a massive failure of RIM's infrastructure.



Nov 29, 2011 - In an acknowledgement of its slipping grip on the corporate sector, RIM offers to manage rival devices including Apple's iPhone and iPad.



Dec 2, 2011 - The company books a huge writedown on PlayBook inventory, which it is discounting heavily to provoke sales.