The Walrus: How BlackBerry Staged a Comeback by Winning Over Car Companies

Dubbed “Crackberry” by ardent users—Webster’s New World College Dictionary proclaimed it the Word of the Year in 2006—the impact and influence of the BlackBerry device in the early 2000s could be found everywhere. It featured in pop song titles and explicit rap lyrics; Kim Kardashian was a loyal user; former United States president Barack Obama famously said he was “clinging” to his BlackBerry and that they would have to “pry it out of [his] hands” when he entered office.

In this explainer piece for The Walrus, I trace the history of BlackBerry and delve into why everyone’s talking about this company — once left for dead — again.