Kim Kardashian is a self-confessed BlackBerry addict and admitting to having not one but three of the Canadian smartphones stacked up just in case one breaks.
Kardashian uses other smartphones, including an iPhone for photos, but her love of the physical keyboard keeps her tied to a BlackBerry – not the new Passport or Q20, but an old BlackBerry Bold.
“I love a BlackBerry,” Kardashian admitted to the Code Mobile conference on Monday. “Every time I say that, people are horrified that I have a BlackBerry, and I don’t understand that reaction.”
“BlackBerry has my heart and soul, I’ll never get rid of it,” she said. “I do have an iPhone, and I use that for photos, but if you have an email and you need to type fast, you need to have that keyboard.”
Kardashian also admitted that despite BlackBerry releasing several new models, including the square Passport, she hadn’t “actually turned it on” and that it was “a little large”. Instead she prefers the compact frame of the Bold so much that she keeps a stock of the old devices ready in case one breaks.
“They don’t even have them in stores anymore. I buy them on eBay. It’s a BlackBerry Bold. And I like to have three in my room that I line up in case they break,” she said.
A BlackBerry spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian that Kardashian does not have an endorsement deal with the company.
Shrinking user base, but still some strongholds
In its prime, BlackBerry’s 80 million users ranked among the world’s elite, from US president Barack Obama, who refused to give up his BlackBerry when taking office, forcing the NSA to secure one for his personal use, to celebrities, sports stars and business people.
Even Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, used a BlackBerry instead of the the company’s Android smartphones because he liked the keyboard.
After years of decline, BlackBerry users number approximately 46 million, with 36 million business users.
But Kardashian isn’t the only celebrity left using a BlackBerry. The actor Bill Murray selected an old BlackBerry as his first smartphone, purely for texting his children, while Lindsay Lohan, Cuba Gooding Jr and Leonardo DiCaprio have all been spotted regularly using BlackBerrys this year.
Tim Allen from Home Improvement fame recently showed off his BlackBerry Passport on the Jimmy Kimmel show in the US, while singers Christina Aguilera and Drake both use BlackBerrys.
It seems many users cling to the BlackBerry because typing on the keyboard over typing on a touch screen offers a couple of advantages.
@SamuelGibbs No look accurate typing. And navigational shortcuts. Never have been able to achieve touchscreen accuracy above 90%
— Stephen (@StephenBB81) October 7, 2014
@SamuelGibbs @alexhern I used to be able to write whole articles on the tube on the way into work; absolutely no chance of that with touch.
— James Graham (@jamesgraham) October 7, 2014
@SamuelGibbs Typing while walking because you can feel it. Their virtual is now almost as good for speed and errors, but it can't do that.
— Ryan Robinson (@Ryan_LR) October 7, 2014
Whether that is enough to keep BlackBerry’s handset business viable if businesses start to switch away to other platforms is unlikely. But perhaps it’s time to give that keyboard another chance?
• Ten things to know about BlackBerry – and how much trouble it is (or isn’t) in
• BlackBerry launches unconventional Passport smartphone
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