BlackBerry is a line of
mobile e-mail and
smartphone devices developed and designed by
Canadian company
Research In Motion (RIM) since 1996.
BlackBerry functions as a
personal digital assistant with address book, calendar and to-do list capabilities. It also functions as a
portable media player with support for music and video playback and camera picture and video capabilities. BlackBerry is primarily known for its ability to send and receive (
push) Internet e-mail wherever
mobile network service coverage is present, or through
Wi-Fi connectivity. BlackBerry is mainly a messaging phone with the largest array of messaging features in a smartphone today, including auto-text, auto-correct, text prediction, support for many languages, keyboard shortcuts, text emoticons, push email, push
Facebook and
Myspace notifications, push
Ebay notifications, push instant messaging with
BlackBerry Messenger,
Google Messenger,
ICQ,
Windows Live Messenger and
Yahoo Messenger; threaded text messaging and a customizable indicator light near the top right of all Blackberry devices. All notifications and conversations from applications are shown in a unified messaging application which third party applications can access also. Many of these applications would have to be running in the background of other phones to be used. BlackBerry's push gives BlackBerry devices their renowned battery life. All data on the phone is compressed through
BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS). BlackBerry has about two thirds less data transfer than any other smartphone,
[2] while supplying the same information.
BlackBerry commands a 20.8% share of worldwide smartphone sales, making it the second most popular platform after
Nokia's
Symbian OS.
[3][4] The consumer BlackBerry Internet Service is available in 91 countries worldwide on over 500 mobile service operators using various mobile technologies.
[5]
Modern
GSM-based BlackBerry handhelds incorporate an
ARM 7, 9 or ARM 11 processor,
[6] while older BlackBerry 950 and 957 handhelds used mudit 80386 processors. The latest GSM BlackBerry models (8100, 8300 and 8700 series) have an Intel
PXA930 624 MHz processor, 256 MB (or 4 GB in case of the torch 9800)
flash memory and 265 MB
SDRAM.
[7] CDMA BlackBerry smartphones are based on Qualcomm MSM6x00 chipsets which also include the ARM 9-based processor and GSM 900/1800 roaming (as the case with the 8830 and 9500) and include up to 256MB flash memory.
[8][9] The CDMA Bold 9650 is the first to have 512mb flash memory for applications. All modern BlackBerrys support up to 32gb microSD cards.
History
The first BlackBerry device, the 850, was introduced in 1999 as a two-way
pager. In 2002, the more commonly known smartphone BlackBerry was released, which supports
push e-mail,
mobile telephone,
text messaging,
Internet faxing,
Web browsing and other wireless information services. It is an example of a
convergent device. The original BlackBerry devices, the RIM 850 and 857, used the
DataTac network.
BlackBerry first made headway in the marketplace by concentrating on e-mail. RIM currently offers BlackBerry e-mail service to non-BlackBerry devices, such as the
Palm Treo, through its BlackBerry Connect software.
The original BlackBerry device had a
monochrome display, but all current models have color displays. All models except for the Storm Series had a built-in
QWERTY keyboard, optimized for "
thumbing", the use of only the thumbs to type. The Storm 1 and Storm 2 include a
SureType keypad for typing, and are the two models that are full touch-screen devices with no physical keyboard. Originally, system navigation was achieved with the use of a scroll wheel mounted on the right side of phones prior to the 8700. The trackwheel was replaced by the trackball with the introduction of the Pearl series which allowed for 4 way scrolling. The trackball was replaced by the optical trackpad with the introduction of the Curve 8500 series. Models manufactured for use with
iDEN networks such as
Nextel and
Mike) also incorporate a
push-to-talk (PTT) feature, similar to a
two-way radio.
Operating system
Main article:
BlackBerry OSThe
operating system used by BlackBerry devices is a proprietary multitasking environment developed by RIM. The operating system is designed for use of input devices such as the track wheel, track ball, and track pad. The OS provides support for Java
MIDP 1.0 and
WAP 1.2. Previous versions allowed wireless synchronization with
Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail and calendar, as well as with
Lotus Domino e-mail. The current OS 5.0 provides a subset of MIDP 2.0, and allows complete wireless activation and synchronization with Exchange e-mail, calendar, tasks, notes and contacts, and adds support for
Novell GroupWise and
Lotus Notes.
Third-party developers can write software using these APIs, and proprietary BlackBerry APIs as well. Any application that makes use of certain restricted functionality must be
digitally signed so that it can be associated to a developer account at RIM. This signing procedure guarantees the authorship of an application but does not guarantee the quality or security of the code. RIM provides tools for developing applications and themes for BlackBerry. Applications and themes can be loaded onto BlackBerry devices through BlackBerry App World, Over The Air (OTA) through the BlackBerry mobile browser, or through BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
CPU
Early BlackBerry devices used
Intel-
80386-based processors.
[10] BlackBerry 8000 series smartphones, such as the 8700 and the Pearl, are based on the 312 MHz
ARM XScale ARMv5TE PXA900. An exception to this is the BlackBerry 8707 which is based on the 80 MHz Qualcomm 3250 chipset; this was due to the PXA900 chipset not supporting 3G networks. The 80 MHz processor in the BlackBerry 8707 meant the device was often slower to download and render web pages over 3G than the 8700 was over EDGE networks. In May 2008 RIM introduced the BlackBerry 9000 series which are equipped with XScale 624 MHz processors.
[11] The BlackBerry Curve 8520 features a 512 MHz processor, while the Bold 9700 features a newer version of the Bold 9000's processor, but is clocked at the same speed.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server
BlackBerry handhelds are integrated into an organization's e-mail system through a software package called
BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). Versions of BES are available for
Microsoft Exchange,
Lotus Domino and
Novell GroupWise. Google has made a Connector for BES which makes BES available for
Google Apps as well. While individual users may be able to use a wireless provider's e-mail services without having to install BES themselves, organizations with multiple users usually run BES on their own network. Some third-party companies provide hosted BES solutions. Every BlackBerry has an ID called a BlackBerry PIN, which is used to identify the device to the BES. BlackBerry now provides a free BES service called BES Express.
A close-up of a BlackBerry's distinctive layout
BES acts as an e-mail relay for corporate accounts so that users always have access to their e-mail. The software monitors the user's local Inbox, and when a new message comes in, it picks up the message and passes it to RIM's
Network Operations Center (NOC). The messages are then relayed to the user's wireless provider, which in turn delivers them to the user's BlackBerry device.
This is called
push e-mail, because all new e-mails, contacts and calendar entries are pushed out to the BlackBerry device automatically and instantaneously (as opposed to the user synchronizing the data manually or having the device poll the server at intervals). BlackBerry also supports polling email, which is how it supports POP. Device storage also enables the mobile user to access all data off-line in areas without wireless service. When the user reconnects to wireless service, the BES sends the latest data.
An included feature in the newer models of the BlackBerry is the ability for it to quickly track your current location through
trilateration without the use of GPS, thus saving battery life and time. Trilateration can be used as a quick, less battery intensive way to provide location-aware applications with the co-ordinates of the user. However, accuracy of BlackBerry trilateration is less than that of GPS due to a number of factors, including cell tower blockage by large buildings, mountains, or distance.
BES also provides handhelds with
TCP/IP connectivity accessed through a component called "
Mobile Data Service - Connection Service" (MDS-CS). This allows for custom application development using data streams on BlackBerry devices based on the
Sun Microsystems Java ME platform.
In addition, BES provides network security, in the form of
Triple DES[12] or, more recently,
AES[13] encryption
[14][15] of all data (both e-mail and MDS traffic) that travels between the BlackBerry handheld and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
Most providers offer flat monthly pricing for unlimited data between BlackBerry units and BES. In addition to receiving e-mail, organizations can make
intranets or custom internal applications with unmetered
traffic.
With more recent versions of the BlackBerry platform, the MDS is no longer a requirement for wireless data access. Beginning with OS 3.8 or 4.0, BlackBerry handhelds can access the Internet (i.e.
TCP/IP access) without an MDS - previously only e-mail and
WAP access was possible without a BES/MDS. The BES/MDS is still required for secure e-mail, data access, and applications that require WAP from carriers that do not allow WAP access.
Certification
A first generation BlackBerry Bold.
The Certification requires the user to pass several exams relating to the BlackBerry Device, all its functions including Desktop software and providing technical support to Customers of BlackBerry Devices.
The BCESA, BlackBerry Certified Enterprise Sales Associate qualification, is the first of three levels of professional BlackBerry Certification.
- BCTA (BlackBerry Certified Technical Associate)
- BlackBerry Certified Support Associate T2
Additional information on certifications can be found on the
Blackberry.com website.
The BlackBerry Technical Certifications available are:
- BlackBerry Certified Enterprise Server Consultant (BCESC)
- BlackBerry Certified Server Support Technician (BCSST)
- BlackBerry Certified Support Technician (BCST)
