Innovation: RIM, Inc
3/23/2013
Product History
On February 4, 2013,Research In Motion (RIM), the global leader in wireless innovation has re-branded the Company. Research In Motion now operates globally under its iconic name BlackBerry. This is long overdue given the fact that the company really owns it success to the BlackBerry.
The introduction of the BlackBerry in 1999 was pivotal in placing RIM among the giants in the mobile industry. Since then BlackBerry products and services have continued to change the way millions of people around the world stay connected., most recently with the launch of the re designed, re engineered and renovated BlackBerry 10.
The BlackBerry started out as a two-way radio pager called the Inter@ctive Pager in the research labs of RIM in 1996. The pager was the fist pocket-sized two-way messaging pager and the predecessor to the BlackBerry. When the first BlackBerry was released to market in 1998 it could send and receive email messages as well as permit wireless access to contact and calendar information. BlackBerrys have continued to gain functionality over the years, with the first phone-capable device introduced in 2004 on the BlackBerry 7100t (Phillips, 2005). In addition to email, text messaging, and personal information management, all BlackBerrys now have phone capability and web-browsing function as standard features. The Pearl was launched in September 2006, designed specifically for the mass consumer market. In addition to having most of the BlackBerry's functions, the Pearl includes a digital camera and audio and visual playback (MP3 and video player), as well as BlackBerry Maps and voice-activated dialing. These features, along with email capabilities and an appealing design come together to create an alluring product that has proven to be increasingly successful. (Reeve, 2006)
Industry Factors
The...