The BlackBerry

They are—quite literally—everywhere. US President Barack Obama admits he cannot live without it. Oprah Winfrey, reigning queen of daytime TV, declared on air that the BlackBerry is one of her “favourite things.†BusinessWeek put the case for owning one bluntly in an article entitled simply: “No BlackBerry. No Life.†Launched in 1984 with a $15,000 parental loan, co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, have propelled Research In Motion (RIM) into one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. The reason: the BlackBerry. RIM sold more than 50 million BlackBerrys by 2009 and sales of the handheld devices generates annual profits in excess of $11 billion. BlackBerry: The Inside Story of Research In Motion is National-Book-Award-winner and bestselling-author Rod McQueen's fascinating and absorbing biography of not only the device's incredible popularity, but a never-before-seen behind-the-scenes glimpse into its origins and development…and the geniuses who were its inspiration.