Blackberry Planet: the Story of Research in Motion and the Little Device That Took the World by Storm Review
- Submitted by: annakuz
- Views: 1013
- Category: Other
- Date Submitted: 01/25/2011 07:18 AM
- Pages: 15
- Report this Essay
In BlackBerry Planet: The Story of Research In Motion and the Little Device That Took the World by Storm (Wiley, 2009), Alastair Sweeny chronicles the development of the immensely successful Canadian company Research In Motion, and focuses on its hit device, the BlackBerry .
In chapter one, Sweeny chooses to present us with the face of the BlackBerry today. Rather than lay out RIM’s early developments, he draws in the reader by describing the BlackBerry’s addictive properties and massive success. He highlights some of the BlackBerry’s key features to explain its widespread use, with over 25 million users worldwide and 85% of public corporations supplying their workers with the device. He goes on to explain that the BlackBerry first caught the attention of politicians when rising above other communication devices during the 9/11 crisis. Its ability to send messages when other devices failed earned it a reputation of reliability and security. Coupled with a preference for wireless communication channels over regular mail during the anthrax scare, the Blackberry really took off. It became such a pervasive part of Congress that presidents eventually fought for the right to use it during their term. For security reasons, presidents are not allowed to use the device, and such was the case during Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s presidency. However, demonstrating the BlackBerry’s role as an essential product, Sweeny allocates pages to describe Barack Obama’s struggle to keep his BlackBerry. He also tells of other high profile individuals who are avid BlackBerry users, such as Queen Elizabeth and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Another example of the BlackBerry’s predominance is the consequent alteration of rules in the House of Commons to accommodate the use of handheld devices. Sweeney also displays the other side of the coin by featuring stories about different individuals who are fighting against the “CrackBerry”. He shows that the device’s prevalence in...
In chapter one, Sweeny chooses to present us with the face of the BlackBerry today. Rather than lay out RIM’s early developments, he draws in the reader by describing the BlackBerry’s addictive properties and massive success. He highlights some of the BlackBerry’s key features to explain its widespread use, with over 25 million users worldwide and 85% of public corporations supplying their workers with the device. He goes on to explain that the BlackBerry first caught the attention of politicians when rising above other communication devices during the 9/11 crisis. Its ability to send messages when other devices failed earned it a reputation of reliability and security. Coupled with a preference for wireless communication channels over regular mail during the anthrax scare, the Blackberry really took off. It became such a pervasive part of Congress that presidents eventually fought for the right to use it during their term. For security reasons, presidents are not allowed to use the device, and such was the case during Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s presidency. However, demonstrating the BlackBerry’s role as an essential product, Sweeny allocates pages to describe Barack Obama’s struggle to keep his BlackBerry. He also tells of other high profile individuals who are avid BlackBerry users, such as Queen Elizabeth and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Another example of the BlackBerry’s predominance is the consequent alteration of rules in the House of Commons to accommodate the use of handheld devices. Sweeney also displays the other side of the coin by featuring stories about different individuals who are fighting against the “CrackBerry”. He shows that the device’s prevalence in...