Old Hardware Emulating - Blackberry SDK with the RIM 850 and 5810
Research Is In Motion
After covering the
Windows CE devices, looking at a handheld with a monochrome LCD screen
seems like a distant throw-back. Don't let the looks fool you though.
The BlackBerry 850 and 5810 was very cutting edge for there time.
The Blackberry devices were made by a Canadian company called RIM, which is an acronym for Research In Motion. Founded in 1996 by Mike Lazaridis, RIM saw a marketplace that was in rapid transition. The Palm Pilot took hold, and the PDA were dominating the handheld landscape. There feature set was constantly expanding. Palm devices started to incorporate modems that allowed for email and web browsing. As such, many business users embraced the new platform. However, problem developed.
Email and corporate communications on the Palm devices was something of an afterthought. Graffiti wasn't the best way to input data for those that needed to relay valuable corporate data quickly.
Since the use of email was exploding within the corporate setting, it was essential that communications remained secure. It was also essential for business users to have there corporate contacts next to them ready instantly when they needed them. Using email to send sensitive data was becoming much more common, there was a need to try to communications as secure as possible. PalmOS isn't exactly known as a corporate-originated platform. Business people would be reluctant to embrace that platform.
RIM saw an opportunity to create devices for the high-flying executive on the go that needed there corporate communications on the go. The Blackberry 850 was released in 1999. The device wasn't referred to the Blackberry at this point. That nickname which would become official later on. However, the features that would define the platform were already present, with the most notable being the full QWERTY keyboard and a scroll wheel to navigate quickly navigate between the applications, options, and menus. The corporate customer quickly noticed. These and future devices were called the "Blackberry" because of the keyboard buttons resemble blackberries. The slang term became so common that RIM adopted it and future devices would be referred to Blackberrys. The 850 had a pager form factor which made it very portable in comparison to a PDA. Since the 850 had pager capabilities as well, it allowed for quick two-way communications on networks with weak signals.
The incorporation of a full keyboard allowed emails to be composed much more quickly. The 850 could store both emails and corporate contacts for those users that would need them instantly.
The Blackberry devices were made by a Canadian company called RIM, which is an acronym for Research In Motion. Founded in 1996 by Mike Lazaridis, RIM saw a marketplace that was in rapid transition. The Palm Pilot took hold, and the PDA were dominating the handheld landscape. There feature set was constantly expanding. Palm devices started to incorporate modems that allowed for email and web browsing. As such, many business users embraced the new platform. However, problem developed.
Email and corporate communications on the Palm devices was something of an afterthought. Graffiti wasn't the best way to input data for those that needed to relay valuable corporate data quickly.
Since the use of email was exploding within the corporate setting, it was essential that communications remained secure. It was also essential for business users to have there corporate contacts next to them ready instantly when they needed them. Using email to send sensitive data was becoming much more common, there was a need to try to communications as secure as possible. PalmOS isn't exactly known as a corporate-originated platform. Business people would be reluctant to embrace that platform.
RIM saw an opportunity to create devices for the high-flying executive on the go that needed there corporate communications on the go. The Blackberry 850 was released in 1999. The device wasn't referred to the Blackberry at this point. That nickname which would become official later on. However, the features that would define the platform were already present, with the most notable being the full QWERTY keyboard and a scroll wheel to navigate quickly navigate between the applications, options, and menus. The corporate customer quickly noticed. These and future devices were called the "Blackberry" because of the keyboard buttons resemble blackberries. The slang term became so common that RIM adopted it and future devices would be referred to Blackberrys. The 850 had a pager form factor which made it very portable in comparison to a PDA. Since the 850 had pager capabilities as well, it allowed for quick two-way communications on networks with weak signals.
The incorporation of a full keyboard allowed emails to be composed much more quickly. The 850 could store both emails and corporate contacts for those users that would need them instantly.
The Blackberry 850
was essentially a pager with a bigger screen and full keyboard. As such,
its form factor was seen as a hindrance with many potential customers
who wanted PDA-ish features. As such, RIM didn't just stop with making
glorified pagers. They stepped up there game and set about to to work on
there next product: a smartphone.
The founder of RIM, Mike Lazaridis, knew that it was only a matter of time before the marriage between the PDA and cellphone occurred. Smartphones were still novelties at the start of the early 2000's. In 1994, IBM released the Simon smartphone. However, the phone gained a notorious reputation for horrible battery life. The Simon was largely ignored in the marketplace and had been discontinued after 6 months. After that, smartphones weren't a thing. In fact, even the typical cellphone weren't a thing either. Granted, they became much more common by the end of the decade as the black flip-phone rained supreme. For average America though, cell-phones were typically seen as pricey toys with expensive contracts. The landlines would continue into the next decade. However, with many home users, there days were numbered.
While the dumb-phones becoming much more common, the smartphone become something of a mythical beast. The Handspring Visor had an cell-phone option which transformed it into a smartphone. In this environment, RIM saw an opportunity and responded to Handspring with the 5810. If one wants to be technical though, the 8510 wasn't technically a smartphone as it didn't have a speaker. Without the headset, the device was basically a PDA with a full keyboard. The bigger display meant more screen re-estate for viewing emails and composing them as well. The 8510 worked on 2G networks and allowed email and voice communication. The emails could be synced to Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes (BizTech). This was all done on one device. While features like these are taken for granted today, they were landmark during a time when the dumb-phones were only capable of the most simplest of task, like making phone calls.
While the 8510 was a very remarkable handheld, it was mildly received in the marketplace. The 8510 was worthless as a smartphone unless one had the headset attached to it. The speaker was sacrificed so that RIM could get the handheld out to market as quickly as possible. Loosing a headset or having one attached to your ear most of the day was seen as a very massive inconveniences. As such, the company would be quick in releasing successive models that would quickly solidify RIM's reputation as a connoisseur of corporate communications.
The founder of RIM, Mike Lazaridis, knew that it was only a matter of time before the marriage between the PDA and cellphone occurred. Smartphones were still novelties at the start of the early 2000's. In 1994, IBM released the Simon smartphone. However, the phone gained a notorious reputation for horrible battery life. The Simon was largely ignored in the marketplace and had been discontinued after 6 months. After that, smartphones weren't a thing. In fact, even the typical cellphone weren't a thing either. Granted, they became much more common by the end of the decade as the black flip-phone rained supreme. For average America though, cell-phones were typically seen as pricey toys with expensive contracts. The landlines would continue into the next decade. However, with many home users, there days were numbered.
While the dumb-phones becoming much more common, the smartphone become something of a mythical beast. The Handspring Visor had an cell-phone option which transformed it into a smartphone. In this environment, RIM saw an opportunity and responded to Handspring with the 5810. If one wants to be technical though, the 8510 wasn't technically a smartphone as it didn't have a speaker. Without the headset, the device was basically a PDA with a full keyboard. The bigger display meant more screen re-estate for viewing emails and composing them as well. The 8510 worked on 2G networks and allowed email and voice communication. The emails could be synced to Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes (BizTech). This was all done on one device. While features like these are taken for granted today, they were landmark during a time when the dumb-phones were only capable of the most simplest of task, like making phone calls.
While the 8510 was a very remarkable handheld, it was mildly received in the marketplace. The 8510 was worthless as a smartphone unless one had the headset attached to it. The speaker was sacrificed so that RIM could get the handheld out to market as quickly as possible. Loosing a headset or having one attached to your ear most of the day was seen as a very massive inconveniences. As such, the company would be quick in releasing successive models that would quickly solidify RIM's reputation as a connoisseur of corporate communications.
On some platforms,
not having a massive software library is a death sentence. This was the
case with the TI Avigo and VTech Helio. Devices that marketed themselves
as a "cheaper alternative" to Palm was doomed to fail as they would
constantly be compared to that platform for better or for worse (and
typically for the worse).
Platforms that marketed themselves on there own merits usually avoided this stigma. For platforms that were generally feature complete, having a small software library didn't really effect the success for failure of that platform. Windows CE was one example. The default applications were very complete and the OS could connect to various Microsoft networks. As such, these devices could succeed on its own merits without the need of a massive software library. BlackBerry was the other platform. The devices that RIM introduced were very innovative and the default applications were very powerful as well.
On one hand, 3rd party software for the 5810 was practically non-e3xistant. However, the applications were very feature complete. As such, not having a software library really didn't hurt this device.
Platforms that marketed themselves on there own merits usually avoided this stigma. For platforms that were generally feature complete, having a small software library didn't really effect the success for failure of that platform. Windows CE was one example. The default applications were very complete and the OS could connect to various Microsoft networks. As such, these devices could succeed on its own merits without the need of a massive software library. BlackBerry was the other platform. The devices that RIM introduced were very innovative and the default applications were very powerful as well.
On one hand, 3rd party software for the 5810 was practically non-e3xistant. However, the applications were very feature complete. As such, not having a software library really didn't hurt this device.
Emulation
RIM released a SDK
for developers which includes a device emulator. The emulator was found
on Crackberry forums and YouTuber Ghita Paslariu has done videos on the
devices and the SDK. I've installed the emulator on my Windows XP
virtual machine running under VMware Player.
Starting this emulator was trickier compared to most. Click on the "Configure" menu option to select the device that you want to emulate. If you launch the emulator without configuring the applications to load, then your going to encounter a blank screen.
Starting this emulator was trickier compared to most. Click on the "Configure" menu option to select the device that you want to emulate. If you launch the emulator without configuring the applications to load, then your going to encounter a blank screen.
The applications
will have to be loaded. To do this, click on "Options" from the
"Configure" menu. Click on the "Applications" tab in the "Simulation
Options" window and then click "Browse" button next to the "Always load
these applications:". drop-down menu. The dialog box should open. Go to
the directory where the applications are loaded. The default location of
the DLL's are "C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\Blackberry Handheld
SDK 2.50.0\dll\mobitex"(or datatac depending on device). Select each
DLL one at a time and make sure that you don't select the same DLL
twice, otherwise the emulator might crash at startup. I made a copy of
the simulator.ini file located in the "C:\Program Files\Research In
Motion\BlackBerry Handheld SDK 2.5.0\Simulator" before starting. It's
good to back it up as you probably will mess up configuration the first
time around. Afterwards, run the emulator, the all the applications
should load in the launcher. If you click the same DLL twice, the
emulator will complain about multiple DLL's loaded. The emulator might
crash as well depending on which DLL's are loaded. There is a lot of
trial-and-error involved in the configuration process. The emulator will
make a memory dump where the programs and contents are stored. If you
add a program, these dmp files, located in the "C:\Program
Files\Research In Motion\Blackberry Handheld SDK 2.50.0\dll\mobitex"(or
datatac depending on device), will need to be deleted and all the
application DLL's need to loaded one by one (again).
As you can probably
tell, this emulator is very sensitive. However, this is only a emulator
in the vaguest of sense. As with the Windows CE and Psion SDK
emulators, the RIM SDK emulator isn't technically a emulator, but the
port of the RIM OS and applications to Windows. The hardware features
are mapped to there Windows equivalents. Programs need to be compiled to
run under the emulator. The emulator, like most incorporated into
SDK's, exist to aid developers when programming and debugging
applications.
Conclusion
These early devices
propelled RIM's image within corporate America. RIM would go onto great
success for most of the early 2000's. However, once the iPhone and
Android devices gained prominence, RIM would face a very massive
challenge and soon the Blackberry devices would fade into obscurity as
Android and iOS took over.
Articles of Interest
BizTech : This Old Tech : BlackBerry 5810 Kickstarted the Mobile Work Era - https://biztechmagazine.com/article/2016/11/blackberry-5810-kickstarted-mobile-work-era
ZDNET : A history of BlackBerry in nine iconic handsets (and one 'meh' tablet): Photos - https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/a-history-of-blackberry-in-nine-iconic-handsets-and-one-meh-tablet-ph...
Research in Motion Wiki : BlackBerry 850 - https://researchinmotion.fandom.com/wiki/BlackBerry_850
Research in Motion Wiki : BlackBerry 5810 - https://researchinmotion.fandom.com/wiki/BlackBerry_5810
World Economic Forum : IBM created the world's first smartphone 25 years ago - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/remembering-first-smartphone-simon-ibm/
Wikipedia : BlackBerry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry
Wikipedia : Mike Lazaridis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lazaridis
CrackBerry : RIM Blackberry 950/850 957/857 SDK, Games, Utilities, Desktop Simulator - https://forums.crackberry.com/older-blackberrys-f29/rim-blackberry-950-850-957-857-sdk-games-utiliti...
CITESEERX.IST.PSU.EDU : Forensic Examination of a RIM (BlackBerry) Wireless Device June, 2002 (PDF) - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.64.2385&rep=rep1&type=pdf
CYBARCODE : RIM BlackBerry 850 - https://cybarcode.com/rim/other/blackberry_850
YouTube Video by Ghita Paslariu (Where All The Downloads And Software Came From)
ZDNET : A history of BlackBerry in nine iconic handsets (and one 'meh' tablet): Photos - https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/a-history-of-blackberry-in-nine-iconic-handsets-and-one-meh-tablet-ph...
Research in Motion Wiki : BlackBerry 850 - https://researchinmotion.fandom.com/wiki/BlackBerry_850
Research in Motion Wiki : BlackBerry 5810 - https://researchinmotion.fandom.com/wiki/BlackBerry_5810
World Economic Forum : IBM created the world's first smartphone 25 years ago - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/remembering-first-smartphone-simon-ibm/
Wikipedia : BlackBerry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry
Wikipedia : Mike Lazaridis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lazaridis
CrackBerry : RIM Blackberry 950/850 957/857 SDK, Games, Utilities, Desktop Simulator - https://forums.crackberry.com/older-blackberrys-f29/rim-blackberry-950-850-957-857-sdk-games-utiliti...
CITESEERX.IST.PSU.EDU : Forensic Examination of a RIM (BlackBerry) Wireless Device June, 2002 (PDF) - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.64.2385&rep=rep1&type=pdf
CYBARCODE : RIM BlackBerry 850 - https://cybarcode.com/rim/other/blackberry_850
YouTube Video by Ghita Paslariu (Where All The Downloads And Software Came From)
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