Remember BlackBerry? She's Back (Sort of)

By Shannon Melero  |  December 1, 2020 | 3:50pm
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Remember BlackBerry? She's Back (Sort of)
Image:Spencer Platt (Getty Images)

Many years ago, in a time before moments were recorded and edited into TikToks, Reels, and Fleets there was an electronic device known to the people of the era as a BlackBerry. An archaic device, the BlackBerry—or as it was sometimes called the BB—was used to transmit messages between parties using an ancient transcription service called BB Messenger. The BlackBerry was square in shape with a keyboard that had the tiniest keys possible and a screen that did not respond to touch. A trackball propelled a cursor allowing users to access the internet. It was a simpler time.

But it seems that not everyone has forgotten about BlackBerry the phone, or the company. BlackBerry Ltd. hit a 52 week high of $8.567 according to Market Watch on Tuesday morning, much to the shock and awe of investors who didn’t even realize they still had shares of BB. How did this dinosaur emerge from Jurassic Park to be worth $3 more than usual? Did they release a solid gold BlackBerry? Is it like my 10-year-old nephew told me, BlackBerry is cool because his mom still has one? Has the thirst for nostalgia finally found its way to the stock market?

There is only one thing with enough fiscal juice to make the BlackBerry sitting in the back of your junk drawer worth anything: Amazon. BlackBerry is getting into bed with AWS in a multi-year agreement “to develop BlackBerry’s Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform, IVY.” What does this mean for the ancient iconic phone? Not a goddam thing!

Unbeknownst to most people familiar with BB, the company does more than manufacture a phone that hasn’t been purchased since 2005. IVY’s sole function is to provide a “secure way to read vehicle sensor data and create insights.” In other words, BlackBerry has pivoted to making sure cars go vroom vroom instead of vroom skiirrtt kerplunk.

How does this news affect you, a master of the arrows that go up? It’s a lesson in adaptability. If BlackBerry can come back from being just an irrelevant tech company that couldn’t keep up with Apple then you too can pivot to literally just about anything, as long as you have a dream and $1.38 billion in revenue.

 
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