BlackBerry has now announced the BlackBerry 9720, which will run on BlackBerry 7 (BB7) instead of the latest BlackBerry 10 (BB10).
The Canadian company has already launched two QWERY handsets this year, the BlackBerry Q10 and the BlackBerry Q5. Unlike the newest BlackBerry 9720, however, both of those handsets run on the company's latest operating system, the BB10.
"The BlackBerry 9720 smartphone gives you all the essentials of the BlackBerry smartphone experience to support a communications centric lifestyle. It has the best keyboard and functionality for BBM, as well as an updated BlackBerry 7 OS that adds many enhancements. It's perfect for customers upgrading from a feature phone or entry-level Android or Windows Phone device, as well as existing BlackBerry smartphone customers, that want a richer experience and jump up in style and performance," said Carlo Chiarello, Executive Vice President for Products at BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry 9720 has entry-level specifications and can compete with other handsets in its category. The smartphone features a 2.8-inch 320 x 480 pixel display, while an 800MHz processor with 512MB RAM powers the handset. The BlackBerry 9720 also includes a 1,450mAh battery, which is expected to last for up to seven hours of talk time.
The device has a dedicated BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) button and BBM Voice plus 3G connectivity and is equipped with a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.
The BlackBerry 9720 will be available in an array of vibrant colors such as black, white, blue, pink and purple. The company announced that the BlackBerry 9720 will hit the shelves in the coming weeks and will be made available in select markets from retailers and carriers in Asia, EMEA and Latin America. The company also announced that select retailers will sell a variety of accessories as well, including cases, chargers and audio peripherals for the handset.
BlackBerry has lost a major chunk of its market share to other handset makers like Samsung, Apple, Nokia, HTC etc. The BlackBerry 9720 is definitely not a handset which will turn the tides for the company. However, smartphone customers who are looking for an entry-level QWERTY handset will have a new option, although it doesn't run on the latest BB10 OS.
