Trademark A PDA introduced in 1999 by Research in Motion Ltd. Its initial success was based on its wireless electronic mail capabilities, where it was the first device to find widespread market acceptance. These in turn depended on two features: a full, although small, keyboard optimized for easy operation with the thumbs; and the use of cell-phone networks to connect to the Internet, which gave users wide-ranging access to the global email network. With the emergence of smartphones BlackBerry has lost its position as a market leader.