BlackBerry ends service on its once-ubiquitous mobile devices

BlackBerry is pulling the plug on service for its once ubiquitous business smartphones, which were toted by executives, politicians and legions of fans in the early 2000s.
 
The move marks the end of an era as the phones, which sported a tiny QWERTY physical keyboard, pioneered push email and the BBM instant messaging service. Former US President Barack Obama, one of its most celebrated users, made headlines in 2016 when he was asked to give up his BlackBerry and replace it with an unnamed smartphone.
 
Blackberry lost favour with users with the advent of Apple’s touchscreen iPhones and