It feels like ancient history now, but the BlackBerry was once the hippest gadget going. Made by Research in Motion (RIM), the smart phone--which debuted as a pager-like gizmo in 1999 and added voice capability in 2002--built its reputation on a remarkably usable pint-size QWERTY keyboard and software that could securely push messages from corporate servers onto the device. That made e-mail mobile and so addictive that the CrackBerry became a status symbol among executives and consumers.
RIM's longtime co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, were rock stars back then. The Waterloo, Ont., company's glory days are long gone, however, and...