You're right. Blackberry wasn't really a fad of novelty. I remember them starting to get really popular around 2004. They were the only device that made mobile email really simple by not overloading the phone with other stuff and putting the focus of the phone connectivity on email.
My first smartphone was a Palm Treo and it didn't take me very long to switch to a Blackberry.
It's hard to imagine if your only experience with smart phones is with iOS and Android devices, but from 2004 until the iPhone in 2007 (and really, the iPhone 3G in 2008), Blackberry was the industry standard for smart phones. Even after the iPhone was released, it still took a few years before people generally accepted touchscreen keyboards. If you look at the early responses to the iPhone, you'll see that was one area where competitors tried to attack -- Palm with their Pre that had both touch screen and a slide out keyboard, and the very ill-advised Blackberry Storm that had a touchscreen you could press in.
And actually, there are still loyal holdover users from Blackberry's prime days who still swear by the Blackberry for it's ability to handle mobile email. They all realize Blackberry's are inferior to iOS and Android devices but the Blackberry's are still what they know and still fit well for what they want to do.
My first smartphone was a Palm Treo and it didn't take me very long to switch to a Blackberry.
It's hard to imagine if your only experience with smart phones is with iOS and Android devices, but from 2004 until the iPhone in 2007 (and really, the iPhone 3G in 2008), Blackberry was the industry standard for smart phones. Even after the iPhone was released, it still took a few years before people generally accepted touchscreen keyboards. If you look at the early responses to the iPhone, you'll see that was one area where competitors tried to attack -- Palm with their Pre that had both touch screen and a slide out keyboard, and the very ill-advised Blackberry Storm that had a touchscreen you could press in.
And actually, there are still loyal holdover users from Blackberry's prime days who still swear by the Blackberry for it's ability to handle mobile email. They all realize Blackberry's are inferior to iOS and Android devices but the Blackberry's are still what they know and still fit well for what they want to do.