OnwardMobility, the company that promised to launch a 5G-enabled BlackBerry by 2021, has closed down, ending yet another attempt to resurrect the once-famed brand.
The Texas-based firm was working on an Android-based BlackBerry device, complete with classic physical keyboard, for release in the US and Europe.
BlackBerry phones haven't been made by the company itself since 2016 due to poor sales. Instead, the company offers the brand name under a license, and all handsets released since have so far come from the Chinese firm TCL communications.
OnwardMobility picked up the license in 2020 but was unable to bring a product to market.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard," the company's statement reads.
Onward picked up the BlackBerry torch in August 2020, and at the time promised to release a "secure, 5G-enabled device" in 2021. However, the year came and went and the only BlackBerry news was an announcement on 4 January that older devices running the 7.1 OS and earlier would no longer be supported with updates.
In the days following that announcement, there was a barrage of social media posts and messages directed at OnwardMobility, with BlackBerry fans apparently upset that the firm had missed its self-set deadline without explanation.
RELATED RESOURCE
On 7 January the firm addressed the issue with a statement claiming it was "not dead". It said that 2021 had been a "truly challenging year to launch a new phone", especially with the "high expectations" it had set for itself. The statement also appeared to suggest that a device had been built, but was held back by shipping difficulties.
Just over a month later, however, the company have posted a new statement to its website announcing that it is shutting down and, as a result, will no longer be releasing a 5G-enabled BlackBerry with a keyboard. The reasons why are still unclear, with OnwardMobility unreachable for comment at the time of writing.
"Please know that this was not a decision that we made lightly or in haste. We share your disappointment in this news and assure you this is not the outcome we worked and hoped for," its statement continued.
-
Why keeping track of AI assistants can be a tricky businessColumn Making the most of AI assistants means understanding what they can do – and what the workforce wants from them
-
Nvidia braces for a $5.5 billion hit as tariffs reach the semiconductor industryNews The chipmaker says its H20 chips need a special license as its share price plummets
-
Blackberry revenue falls by 4% as cyber security division takes hitNews Despite this, the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) division increased its revenue by 28% as it attracted new customers from the automotive sector
-
BlackBerry and AWS are developing a standardized vehicle data platformNews Platform will give automakers a standardized way to process data from vehicle sensors in the cloud
-
BlackBerry thwarts mobile phishing attacks with new AI toolsNews The company's Protect Mobile platform alerts users to potential malware before a link is clicked
-
BlackBerry Persona Desktop delivers zero-trust security at the endpointNews New security solution learns user behavior and can take action if there’s an abnormality
-
A 5G BlackBerry phone with physical keyboard is coming in 2021News The business phone to be resurrected with OnwardMobility and FIH Mobile planning a security-savvy enterprise handset
-
The business smartphone is deadIn-depth BlackBerry’s demise signals the end of the business-first handset
-
BlackBerry Key2 review: The best physical keyboard no one asked forReviews Despite the improvements, the flaws of BlackBerry’s Key range are still front and centre
-
BlackBerry Motion review: Running in place?Reviews A functional, no-frills phone with little to entice
