OnwardMobility shutdown means BlackBerry revival isn't happening

Photo by Randy Lu on Unsplash

Startup OnwardMobility hoped to bring back the BlackBerry brand through a 5G-equipped Android device. But the company has announced its shutdown on its site. "It is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard," the company wrote in a statement on its website.

There have been reports before about the BlackBerry project being cancelled, but there was speculation OnwardMobility would still develop a keyboard-equipped 5G Android phone without the BlackBerry name. But now that isn't going to happen. It didn't mention why they didn't push through. But as The Verge pointed out, it wouldn't have been easy to enter the smartphone business amid a global chip shortage.

BlackBerry devices will stop working on Jan. 4

Photo by Randy Lu on Unsplash

For the very, very small subset of users that possibly still have BlackBerry devices, we're here to remind you that your devices will stop working on January 4. We reported about this earlier, but here's just a final reminder. Classic devices running BlackBerry OS 7.1 or earlier and OS 10 will lose critical services, including calls, texts, data, and even emergency access. The PlayBook tablet will also lose access to essential services. There won't be access to Wi-Fi and apps like BlackBerry World and Desktop manager either. 

It has been widely known that BlackBerry wasn't able to respond to the threat of the iPhone early on, and its attempts at adopting Android didn't work out. What remains is its QNX operating system that powers infotainment systems from carmakers like Toyota, Honda, and Audi.

Source: Engadget

Telus reminds you it's shutting down all BlackBerry legacy network access

Here's a reminder for all the remaining BlackBerry users. Your devices will stop working on January 4, 2022. Telus has sent out a tweet about this, but strangely it said that BlackBerry is shutting down on January 22, 2022. But we know that all Canadian carriers will spot supporting these devices. You won't connect to any network, and they will no longer support voice, data, SMS, or 911 services.

BlackBerry committed back in 2017 to offer two more years of support for BB10 devices and two years of network access to other BBOS devices. But Telus says BlackBerry is now "taking steps to decommission or terminate infrastructure services." Here's the complete list of affected devices and services.

TCL will stop making BlackBerry phones by the end of August 2020

BlackBerry phones were still showcased at TCL's booth during CES 2020

Chinese electronics group TCL will halt the production of BlackBerry-branded phones this year. But it isn't clear if this marks the end of the once-dominant Canadian handset brand. According to BlackBerry's official Twitter, TCL will lose its rights to design, make, or sell BlackBerry smartphones by the end of August. BlackBerry licensed its smartphone technology to TCL back in 2016 in hopes of reviving the brand against the stiff competition it faced from Apple and Android-powered devices. BlackBerry retained control over the software and security on smartphones, while TCL made the hardware. 

BlackBerry didn't say what the future holds for its mobile brand, but it said in the post, "The future is bright for both TCL Communication and BlackBerry Limited, and we hope you will continue to support both as we move ahead on our respective paths."