BlackBerry has officially taken the wraps off its new BlackBerry Classic smartphone, returning to the iconic design that proved to be so popular among its fans.
Most consumers, when thinking about BlackBerry, automatically associate the company with the iconic QWERTY design of its smartphones. After losing significant ground to rivals, however, BlackBerry moved to a more "modern" design with its BlackBerry 10 handsets, ditching its traditional QWERTY design in favor of touchscreens.
The company has apparently realized that consumers expect something else from a BlackBerry smartphone, and is now returning to its roots in terms of design.
"We listened closely to our customers' feedback to ensure we are delivering the technologies to power them through their day - and that feedback led directly to the development of BlackBerry Classic," the company explained in a blog post on Wednesday, Dec. 17, announcing the new smartphone. "BlackBerry Classic is the powerful communication tool that many BlackBerry Bold and Curve users have been waiting for. It's the secure device that feels familiar in their hands, with the added performance and agility they need to be competitive in today's busy world."
"The design language of the BlackBerry Classic is that of the familiar BlackBerry Bold 9900. As we've explained over the past few weeks this proven, trusted form factor that is built for productivity has been upgraded. With the BlackBerry Classic you get a screen that is 60 percent larger. It's perfect for reading messages, browsing the web three times faster than Bold 9900, or enjoying apps via BlackBerry World or the Amazon Appstore," the company further touts.
The new BlackBerry Classic indeed sees the return of the company's much-touted touch-sensitive trackpad and navigation bar, something we haven't seen since the BlackBerry 9900. BlackBerry admits that its trackpad has been the most requested feature among its fans ever since the launch of BB10 OS, and the BlackBerry Classic also brings back the keys for menu, back, call, and end.
In terms of specifications, the BlackBerry Classic sports a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 720 x 720 pixels and packs a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage capacity with microSD support for additional memory. Other specs include an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front shooter, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE connectivity options, and BlackBerry 10.3 on the software side. The new smartphone also boasts improved battery life, according to the company, lasting for 50 percent longer on a single charge.
The BlackBerry Classic was also designed with the business market in mind, and comes with the company's BES 12 management system, in addition to Gold level security for greater control.
The handset is already available for purchase in the U.S. and Canada for $449 and $499, respectively, but the company has yet to announce more details regarding the BlackBerry Classic's availability in other markets.
