I got to wondering about iPads, iPhones, tablets, laptops, slates, etc, etc and THEN I progressed to who made them and thought of them in the first place! ANYWAY, today I found this interesting history of the Blackberry on eHow.com written
By Dennie Ho, eHow Contributing Writer:

Offering the capability of real time email in any location, the BlackBerry Smartphone has become a popular wireless handheld device. Designed and developed by the Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM), the abilities of the Blackberry (mobile telephone service, text and media messaging, Internet browsing, push email and fax) have created its addictive reputation, known to most users and the Webster New World College Dictionary as the "CrackBerry."

    History

  1. The original BlackBerrydevice was introduced as a two-way pager in 1999. It was not until 2002 that the more commonly recognized BlackBerry smartphone debuted on the wireless handheld market.

    Design

  2. The original BlackBerry devicefeatured a grayscale, monochrome screen display. All modern BlackBerry designs now feature color screen displays.

    Market Presence

  3. To make its way in the wireless marketplace, the makers of BlackBerry initially concentrated on email technology and services. Today email service is still offered to non-BlackBerry smartphones and wireless devices.

    Founder

  4. Research in Motion was founded by Mihalis "Mike" Lazaridis, born in the Greek quarter of Instanbul, Turkey, in 1961. Lazaridis is the lead architect of the BlackBerry wireless handhelddevice.

    Inspiration

  5. Mike Lazaridis, a fanatical Star Trek enthusiast, was inspired by the wireless communicators, tricorders, computers, gadgets and other futuristic tools of the original Gene Roddenberry series.

    Software

  6. Research in Motion uses C, C++ and Java platform technology to design and develop its own software for all its BlackBerry devices. RIM also develops and markets embedded wireless data components--special-purpose computer systems encapsulated inside the device they control.