I am one of the few people that predicted Blackberry's fall some years back. I have been closely watching RIM’s business strategy and could smell rat somehow. I am sure this article would be seen as belated to some people because blackberry seems dead and buried. However, before you pronounce Blackberry dead, let me share some things with you. Agree with me, RIM (Research in Motion) had got well enough.
 
I started using blackberry since 2007 and I can't but give kudos to RIM for some amazing features I had always imagined to have on a mobile device. I will like to share with you what you would forever miss about Blackberry if you are in the league of people who had used blackberry before but feel it has lost its hold on them.
 
This article is based on my experience and it is basically a personal opinion. Let's take a ride.
 
 
Blackberry Email
One of the many things that amazed me when I started using blackberry was the process of setting up emails. You can agree with me that it is very easy. Blackberry doesn't care about which provider you are setting the email from; neither does it require you to know some configuration parameter for manual setup. All you are required to know is your username and password, not minding where your email is from (Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL or others). It works fine with less of technical jargon. I never knew the blessing attached to this simplicity until I started setting up email on my iPhone and ThunderBird email clients. I swear, sometimes I lose hope and just want to go through the web client. Blackberry makes you feel like a hero while setting up emails on the device because you are covered. It caters for your ignorance and it does not give you any reason to start thinking. You don't need to know the protocol that your email uses (POP or IMAP) and you don't need to bother about the SMTP port.
 
Blackberry email comes in handy and close to real-time. I hate the fact that sometimes I need to keep refreshing for new emails on my iPhone. If I don't do that, it may come in minutes after the email has reached my inbox. On Blackberry phones, your emails feel more like real-time because there is no waiting time. Blackberry pushes your email to your device immediately. This is superb and second to none. Blackberry’s email is a blessing!
 
Blackberry archives your email on your device. This feature is one of the features that almost got me in soup on the very first week I said "Bye-Bye" to my blackberry. The few emails archived on my iPhone did not have the email I was looking for so I had to connect to the internet to search from the server. This was so annoying that I ran out of patience. On a press of button "B" on my Blackberry phone I always jumped to my very first email, no matter how long it was received. I jumped to emails as long as 2009. This works well for business because either your radio power is on or off you can access your very old emails and act on it. 
 
 
Blackberry Messenger
Blackberry messenger is a great tool and invention. The recent rave in downloading it on other mobile devices has proven this. Whatever purpose you are using it for, it never disappoints. It tells when your message gets delivered and read. The eagerness of a new person on BBM to get people to chat with can be seen on forums and social network platforms where they post their Blackberry PINs. New message notifications are integral part of the application because you rarely forget that you have a new message on BBM, the light keeps winking at you. You can only deliberately ignore it. Blackberry Messenger status update is so fantastic and easy. I know a lot of people who craved to have this amazing feature on their mobile device before Blackberry announced they are making it available on other devices; literarily, the whole world went agog. The rush was so much that a friend of mine said he spent all night waiting for the download links. A lot of false links came out and you can rarely see only a thousand on the download count, it goes into hundreds of thousands.
 
 
Blackberry Help
You rarely see a mobile device that comes along with user manual on the device. Back then, in 2007 when I started using Blackberry, the phone seemed complex to me and ordinarily, sending a text message or sending a song through Bluetooth was similar to flying a plane for me. I presumed that the device could do so much but I needed help on how to get along. Out of frustration, I had to give my younger brother my expensive Blackberry phone and kept on using my beloved Nokia phone until one very day when I got home and discovered that my brother had unravelled the puzzle. Alas! He wasn’t a magician; he was only patient to read the manual on the phone. He taught me like a child and I blessed that very day. After the brief but concise lesson from him, I used the phone as an expert and would never need anybody's help. So, here is a big lesson for you too; before you would need to check online for the solution to some small issues that you cannot understand on your blackberry device, consult its manual.
 
Blackberry Short keys
Short keys are so sweet on blackberry. I can't forget those keys that made my life so easy. "C" for compose, "R" for reply, "T" for top and some many more. I can do so many magic with my blackberry device without having to press the option button. I can't forget the day a stranger saw me typing on my Blackberry device and commended me. I learn everyday with my device because it is so interactive. With Blackberry, your thought is your limitation. You can add new functions to the side keys. You can create unlimited keywords for many words. You can...do anything!
 
 
Addiction
Blackberry is addictive. Simple!
 
When RIM got it wrong
I feel RIM got it wrong for trying to do everything. RIM showed that they are hardware company, Internet Company, Software Company and everything you can think of.
 
The first issue I had with Blackberry was with BIS (Blackberry Internet Subscription). Why can't I use my Network Data plan to assess Blackberry features (Email, BBM and others)? Why must my emails be tied to the number of emails I set up on the device (I am not sure if this is what is achievable in other parts of the world). I couldn't use the BIS (N1,500/month) social package from my Network provider because it avails me just the opportunity to use one email and other social applications like Facebook and Twitter. I am not the Facebook type; I use my device for business purposes so emails are so important to me. On realising that I can set up as many emails as my mind can imagine on iPhone with my data bundle I had to kiss my iPhone. Though this is now achievable on new Blackberry models starting from Z10, the question is why now? Must you wait to be pushed to the walls? Other devices have started cashing out when you woke up from your slumber.
 
RIM, please choose a part, do you want to be seen as an internet company, Hardware or Software?
 
Closed System (Blackberry messenger API)
I am not opposed to the system being closed but I feel Blackberry Messenger's API should be made open to developers. I once thought of an application I would like to work with BBM API and all I got online drew me back. RIM can continue developing the application but let developers prove their creative power with your APIs. The more applications your APIs are tied to, the more relevant you get and the more developers won't let go.
 
If I were RIM's CEO
If I were RIM's CEO I would be generous to the world of technology by deploying Blackberry OS on other devices like Samsung, Nokia, HTC and the rest. It has already shown that peoples' problem is not with Blackberry, it is just that they need other devices, so why not give them. The whole world was on stand still when RIM announced that BBM is coming to other stores. This has shown how many people crave for BBM. The market is still active and people love Blackberry. I would lower my ego and give it a real competition.
 
Blackberry my Blackberry
I still love you for what you do and do best. Though I gave out my last Blackberry to a little cousin, I hope to get another one very soon because iPhone is killing my emails. I am not as responsive with email as before and I really missed my Blackberry.