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The BlackBerry is a handheld wireless device providing e-mail, telephone, text messaging and world wide web browsing services.
The devices are manufactured by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) and are resold by cellular phone companies throughout the world. They fit in the palm of the hand and are operated using a scrollwheel and buttons. The original BlackBerry device had a monochrome display but the newer models are colour.
While including the usual PDA applications (calendar, etc.) as well as cell phone capabilities on newer models, the BlackBerry is primarily known for its ability to send and receive email anywhere it is in coverage, as well as a built in keyboard optimized for " thumbing", or using only your thumbs to type. System navigation is primarily accomplished by the thumbwheel, a scrolling wheel with a "click" function, located on the right side of the device. Specialty models also incorporate a two-way radio.
The devices are very popular with some businesses, where they are primarily used to provide email delivery to roaming employees. To fully integrate the BlackBerry into a company, the installation of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) is required.
In November 2004, RIM announced that the number of subscribers to the BlackBerry service had reached two million, having doubled within ten months.
RIM provides a proprietary operating System for the BlackBerry, which makes heavy use of the device's specialized input devices, particularly the thumbwheel. The OS provides support for MIDPMIDP stands for the Mobile Information Device Profile. It is a specification put out by Sun Microsystems for the use of Java on embedded devices such as cell phones and PDAs. Introduction The J2METM Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) and Connected L 1.0 and WAP 1.2. The newer OS 4 and later provides a subset of MIDP 2.0.
The ability to read email that is received in realtime, anywhere, has made the BlackBerry devices infamously addictive, earning them the nickname "CrackBerry". Smaller blue-coloured models of the BlackBerry are colloquially nicknamed "BlueBerrys". Due to the abbreviated company name displayed prominently on early BlackBerry devices, they are mistakenly nicknamed "RIM".
Internal to the company, various model families are named for subatomic particleIn physics, a subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom. These include atomic constituents such as electrons, protons, and neutrons (protons and neutrons are actually composite particles, made up of quarks), as well as particles produced by ras; names used include ProtonFor alternative meanings see proton (disambiguation). Proton Classification Subatomic particle Fermion Hadron Baryon Nucleon Proton Properties Mass: 938 MeV/ c2 Electric Charge: 1. 6 × 10−19 C Spin: 1/2 In physics, the proton is a subatomic particle, BaryonIn particle physics, the baryons are a family of subatomic particles including the proton and the neutron (collectively called nucleons), as well as a number of unstable, heavier particles (called hyperons). The term "baryon" is derived from the Greek bar, QuarkFor other uses of this term, see: Quark (disambiguation discovery of the charm quark In particle physics, the quarks are subatomic particles thought to be elemental and indivisible. They are one of the two kinds of spin-½ fermions (the other being the lep and CharmCharm can have the following meanings: In the world of paranormal magic, a charm can mean either: An amulet or talisman, or a spell. When a charm is a spell, it is usually traditional in form and often in verse. See also: hoodoo, pow-wow (folk magic), vod, among others.