‘This was peak technology’: Gen Z is bringing back the BlackBerry

Fast Company ^ | 06-11-2025 | Eve Upton-Clark

[MayflowerMadam]

This has become a hot topic this month. Gen Z is going retro, and I hope Elon is paying attention! He could hire all the old RIM engineers, make any necessary revisions, and provide the best-ever cell phone.

The best cell phones I've had are BlackBerry devices. I prefer the Classic. The Android Priv was OK, but overheated and sometimes got stuck in boot loop. All have tactile keyboards.

The BB dedicated apps were excellent, including GPS. The Hub, BBM messaging, keyboard (repeating myself). I still connect my old ones to the internet and use them ones for net surfing, posting to FR, etc., as it's SO much faster than with the virtual keyboard. Many shortcuts are available so it's possible to be speedy.

The security was so good, even tech support people were unable to do remote access. (I think that one reason RIM stopped making them is because they were TOO secure; Big Brother couldn't spy.)

Since Hillary took great pains to smash all of hers, how bad can they be?

Several recent videos are online. Here's one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKHqbJSrnak

[NonValueAdded]

Not if it is made in Israel!!! I wouldn’t want to chance getting the wrong one.

[cuban leaf]

I’m 71 and was a hi-fi salesman in the ‘76-’83 timeframe. I collect vinyl records, still. I’m shocked at how may kids are going for vinyl these days.

Heck, I live in a small town and our Wal-Mart has a shockingly good vinyl selection. Even my 15 year old grandaughter is getting into it, as well as my 41 year old son and his wife.

Retro is in.

One thing for sure, I HATE TOUCH SCREENS.

[cuban leaf]

My 2006 Scion xB, that I bought new, has 240k miles on it and runs great. If they were to bring out that same car right now, I’d write a check that day for a new one. Same five speed manual and same engine.

Mine has severe “deer damage” so my wife refuses to be seen in it.

[cuban leaf]

I see what you did there...🤣😀😀

[Dr. Sivana]

I am not sure the “phone” part of the Blackberry can still work. Those are 2g/3g, no?

[missnry]

I remember being in Business Class on a flight and some joker strutting by on his way to Coach Class saw my Blackberry. He said loudly, “Is that a Blackberry? Is that a Blackberry?” I was wondering what the problem was with this catfish. I guess I wasn’t hip enough for him because I didn’t have a smartphone.

[MayflowerMadam]

Point taken! That could be painful, right?

[discostu]

RIM got circumvented by a better system. This biggest problem was they were all about the minutes. Making money the same way regular cellphones did. But, using the voice network meant data took more bandwidth (basically, they’re modems, instead of wireless network), which created a lot of problems. And innately limits how many you can have on the system. Apple went wifi, talked the cell companies into parallel DATA networks, much lower bandwidth.

RIM stopped making them because they died. Once the market went past them that was it.

[butlerweave]

Didn’t they already try this 2 or 3 times ?

[duckman]

Im 81 and recently sold my collection. 4K 45 rpm, 500 33 1/3 albums, 200 78 RPM. All R&B, Doowop and Blues. All from the 40’s and 50’s. Had been collecting since I was a kid. Had to let them go.

[MayflowerMadam]

“One thing for sure, I HATE TOUCH SCREENS.”

It’s impossible to hate touch screens enough! They are from the depths of hell. I texted my brother that our sister had “just docked in Seattle”. That’s what I THOUGHT I had typed. Autocorrect changed “docked” to something else, making us wonder how much fun she was really having in Seattle.

And stupid laptop touchpads. I bought a refurbished Lenovo laptop — practically new — for $100. The guy said the only thing wrong with it was that the touchpad doesn’t work and he didn’t want to mess with it. I said GOOD! The first thing I ever do is go into Settings and disable the touchpad.

[vikingd00d]

>>Retro is in.

[MayflowerMadam]

“I am not sure the “phone” part of the Blackberry can still work. Those are 2g/3g, no?”

I am wondering the same thing. I believe mine were 3G, and 3G (I have heard) is not longer supported. If you switched a current SIM card over to a BB device, would it work? I don’t think so.

They still kick ass on the internet, though.

[Joe 6-pack]

Relatively early in the smart phone era (probably around 2009 or 2010) I got an LG smartphone that had a slide out physical keyboard. The battery life was a little shorter than I would have preferred but I liked having a tactile keyboard and being able to see the full screen while I typed instead of having a virtual keyboard take up half the screen. It was something like this:

[Clutch Martin]

I wonder if the black berry can be hacked like all the new phones can be?

[MayflowerMadam]

“Didn’t they already try this 2 or 3 times ?”

I think that when they tried to make BB compatible with Android, things fell apart. Priv was the last-ditch effort to stay current. Sadly, “current” (Android) was worse depending on if you wanted something serious or a toy.

(I’m not bitter.)

[MayflowerMadam]

“I wonder if the black berry can be hacked like all the new phones can be?”

Hard to say, now. In their heyday they were scary secure. I have a feeling that Uncle Sam would issue some edicts to minimize security. I have heard that they couldn’t keep their business without compromising security, so just let it go.

[Clutch Martin]

I’m looking for a Toyota T-100 extended cab, 2WD with a manual transmission. Or something similar. A 4 cylinder is preferred. There kinda hard to find.

[bigbob]

I just came across my old Blackberry yesterday - still holds a charge and has data from 2005! Always liked the BB.