Latest news with #Blackberry
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gen Z is swapping their smartphones for this retro alternative: ‘Need a social media detox'
Young folks are desperately trying to reconnect with the world around them. The method many have chosen? 'Dumbphones' — otherwise known as the millennial-era Blackberry. Ironically, Gen-Z is taking to social media — which isn't even supported on a dumbphones — to spread the word. For months now, users ranging in age from mid-20s to late teens have been demonstrating interest in 'retro' technology like Walkmans, iPods and digital cameras. But the latest Y2K craze has older generations positively baffled. A quick TikTok search under the keyword 'Blackberry' will display thousands upon thousands of videos of Gen-Zers purchasing shelved Blackberry phones off of eBay or digging them out of their parents' closets, decorating them with rhinestones and keychains, and flaunting clicky ASMR-worthy keyboards. For many, the Blackberry craze is a continuation of 2000s nostalgia-core, a time when aesthetics like Britney Spears-esque McBling, cyberfuturism and Frutiger Aero ruled the trends. 'We've come full circle,' declare dozens of comments under posts by TikTok content creators like @notchonnie, who uses her platform to show off her massive retro tech collection 'I'm so sick of Apple, I would give up just about everything for a BlackBerry!' one user wrote. Commenters also shared how they scoured sites like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Back Market in search of Blackberry phones to supplant their modern smartphones. For just a few hundred dollars, these tech-tired Gen-Zers purchase peace of mind — and plenty of questions from older generations who no doubt remember the spotty service, super-small keyboards, and less-than-intuitive user interfaces. Compared to the price of a new iPhone, which these days can cost upwards of a thousand dollars, and unlimited data plans that run users up to $70 a month, younger generations see the Blackberry as a no-brainer. For many, the growing anti-smartphone movement is also a way to genuinely embrace the offline world and be more mindful about content consumption. 'The smartphone is not a source of enjoyment anymore,' Pascal Forget, a tech columnist in Montreal, told CBC News. 'It used to be fun, but now [people are] addicted to it, so they want to go back to simpler times using a simpler device.' 'These are supposed to be the best moments of our life, but you look around and people are scrolling,' Sammy Palazzolo, a TikTok content creator who uses a flip phone part-time, told USA Today. Though they've grown up in the digital age, Gen Zers, and even older members of Gen Alpha, are starting to catch on — no matter where you look these days, everyone is glued to their phone. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study on the subject, nearly half of teenagers today say they're online 'almost constantly,' compared to ten years ago, when 24% of teens answered the same. Some have even reported feeling the phantom buzz of a smartphone notification, and others have said that tapping the 'on' button is now nothing less than a reflex. 'It just basically created this pattern where I was anxious, and so I'd open my smartphone, and then I would hate myself for opening my smartphone, which made me more anxious,' Charlie Fisher, a 20-year-old college student, told USA Today. In facilitating his digital detox, Fisher ditched his iPhone for a flip phone, and according to him, he hasn't looked back since. 'I've been seeing things more like when I was a kid,' Fisher continued, elaborating on his newly-found phone-free lifestyle. 'You really see things for how they are in the physical world, and your emotions are really attached to that.' Flip-phones and 2000s-era tech like the BlackBerry aren't just cheaper. According to Gen-Z, they promote spending more quality time with family and friends, exploring other hobbies outside of doomscrolling and binge-watching, and finding a healthier work-life balance, which begs the question: are the kids actually onto something?
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Jim Balsillie donates $5 million to Wilfrid Laurier University to kick start digital sovereignty
Jim Balsillie, the Canadian businessman and philanthropist, has donated $5 million to Wilfrid Laurier University for the establishment of a digital governance initiative to build economic resilience and digital sovereignty. 'The nature and the structure of the global economy and global security has shifted foundationally in the last 30 years in a degree and rapidity that's unprecedented in mankind,' said Balsillie in an interview. 'And if you want to be a sovereign and secure and prosperous nation, you need the capacity for navigating that on a front-footed basis. So, this investment is all about that.' In a news release, the university in Waterloo, Ont., said Canada needs to 'shape policy and increase productivity amid growing threats to sovereignty and security.' It said the Balsillie donation will go toward setting up a legal advisory centre that tackles international trade and technology governance, and establishing professional training programs and a proposed graduate degree that focuses on 'law, digital sovereignty and global technology governance.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'This is about building capacity to manage the expertise into these realms that are digital, whether it's AI, data, blockchain currencies, intellectual property, trade agreements, all of these things are the realms that this is contended, and Canada has had an eroding prosperity, it's had an eroding sovereignty because the terrain of protecting and advancing those is the digital realm,' said Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research in Motion, the company that developed the Blackberry. He said the digital initiative is a 'natural addition' to the school, which is also home to the Balsillie School of International Affairs, a joint project of Laurier, the University of Waterloo and the Centre for International Governance and Innovation. Deborah MacLatchy, the president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier, said the funding will 'stand up' the work students and faculty are doing on the topic of the digital future. While figures aren't yet known, the university hopes to add faculty and more students because of the new research and educational initiative. 'We're hearing a lot from companies, from government, about their capacity needs, meaning that they just don't feel that they have all the internal expertise or the up-and-coming expertise of students and grad students who have experience in this area,' said MacLatchy. 'And this gift will really allow us to really take a take a run at this in a way that will be unique across the country.' The hope is that other Canadian universities will eventually follow Laurier's lead, doing more research and education in the area. The issue of digital sovereignty, said Ann Fitz-Gerald, director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, is 'about taking control of a state or any organization's digital destiny and autonomy.' This includes not just corporate data security or intellectual property or cross-border data transfer but also issues of national security, Fitz-Gerald said. 'There's a big policy shift towards the intangibles from the tangibles, and we need to make sure policymakers worldwide, not just in Canada, have the knowledge and skill sets to operate in this space,' Fitz-Gerald said. So much of what happens in a modern society, from immigration to business to justice, happens in the digital world and is driven by data. And so Balsillie's donation, Fitz-Gerald said, will help position Canada and Wilfrid Laurier and the Waterloo region at the forefront of that economic, social and political revolution. Indeed, as data can be siphoned off by corporate giants to aid foreign economic development, Canada could wind up being a loser unless it builds expertise in digital sovereignty. 'The best way that I have come to be able to explain it is that we have had, for time immemorial, a policy orientation and governance structures that are fit for a tangibles world. We now live in an intangibles world,' said Fitz-Gerald. 'We want to be able to manage its development and have a real … say in its safe and responsible development, and the safety and responsibility relates to the preservation of our sovereignty and national security and prosperity.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
AU Financial Review
2 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Coatue doubled its money on Melio. Here's how to learn from its success
When the first iPhone was released in June 2007, Belgian-born French fund manager Philippe Laffont and his team gathered in the boardroom of Coatue Management's New York offices and got out their pocket knives. They took the phone's hardware apart, made investments in all the suppliers of its components, and shorted any business that would face competitive pressure – including Nokia and Blackberry.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: Bumble, FedEx, Blackberry
On this episode of Stock Movers: - Bumble (BMBL) shares rise after the company said it's cutting almost one-third of its staff, months after founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as chief executive officer to overhaul the struggling dating app. - FedEx (FDX) shares drop after the company warned that its profit will be worse than expected this quarter and declines to offer guidance for the rest of the year due to the uncertain global demand environment. - Blackberry (BB) shares gain after the software company boosted its revenue forecast for the full year. Analysts were positive about the company's forecast and hiked their price target on the stock.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
BlackBerry raises annual revenue forecast on robust demand for cybersecurity services
FILE PHOTO: The Blackberry logo is shown on a office tower in Irvine, California, U.S., October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) -Canada's BlackBerry raised its annual revenue forecast on Tuesday, anticipating steady demand for its cybersecurity services amid growing online crimes, sending the company's U.S.-listed shares up 6% after the bell. A rise in cybercrimes and hacks has spurred companies to invest heavily in cybersecurity, benefiting firms such as BlackBerry that provide security services. Cybersecurity remains largely insulated from broader spending volatility and is likely to continue as a top investment priority for customers, analysts have said. BlackBerry now sees fiscal year 2026 revenue in the range of $508 million to $538 million, up from its earlier forecast of $504 million to $534 million. The company also raised annual revenue forecast for its secure communications segment, which provides intelligent security software to enterprises and governments. It expects revenue between $234 million and $244 million for the unit, from its prior forecast of $230 million to $240 million. The Waterloo-based company's revenue for the quarter ended May 31 stood at $121.7 million, below $123.4 million reported last year. Revenue in its QNX business rose 8.1% year-on-year to $57.5 million, while revenue from its secure communications unit fell 7.3% to $59.5 million in the first quarter. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
