What is BlackBerry?

BlackBerry is a brand of phones from Canadian manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) famed for its great email features.

Most BlackBerrys feature full physical keypads to help out when you’re writing long emails although RIM has started to produce more phones that also include touchscreens.

Originally designed to let people get access to their emails on the go, BlackBerrys became synonymous with high-powered business people.

Although the growth in popularity of the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instant messenger service has made the devices popular with younger users.

Recent BlackBerrys

The most recent BlackBerrys include the BlackBerry Torch – which earned a Best Buy rating in our rigorous lab tests – and the BlackBerry Bold 9780.

BlackBerrys have come in for criticism recently for failing to keep up with emerging smartphone operating systems like Android and iOS. BlackBerrys just don’t seem to be as much fun to use as their younger competition, but recent updates have made the phones more accessible and they’re still very efficient devices for communication – even if you can’t download Angry Birds.

If you’re just interested in using your phone for keeping in touch and appreciate a full Qwerty keypad to allow you to quickly type out your messages you could do a lot worse than a BlackBerry.

But if you want to download heaps of fun apps and use your phone as a toy as well as a phone, it might be best to look elsewhere – maybe at an Android device?

For all the best mobile phone deals on BlackBerry handsets, head over to Which?.