Blackberry Classic is official – and available now in the USA
We knew it was coming – but Blackberry has finally made it all official. The Blackberry Classic is the latest phone from the troubled smartphone maker and takes its inspiration from the past – retaining a physical keyboard – whilst boosting the insides to compete with modern devices.
The phone, which runs the Blackberry 10 Operating System can also run Android apps via the Amazon app store – and the company is boasting that the new handset has a longer battery life (22 hours), a 60% bigger screen a faster web browser than the preceding Blackberry Bold 9900.
Here’s a full rundown of the features that the company is keen to highlight, from the official press release:
BlackBerry® Keyboard & Trackpad – The QWERTY keyboard has stood the test of time as the iconic BlackBerry feature that users know and trust. Crafted for optimal speed and accuracy, the BlackBerry Classic’s QWERTY keyboard gives users the control and confidence to communicate quickly and clearly using one hand with a trackpad and classic navigation keys.
BlackBerry® Browser – The BlackBerry 10 web browser is amazingly fast and astoundingly beautiful. That’s why HTML5TEST.com rates it amongst the top mobile browsers for web fidelity.* Access your favorite online content as it was meant to be seen, faster than ever before and with unlimited browser tabs.
Screen & Battery – The BlackBerry Classic offers a form factor optimized for power communicators with a 3.5-inch touch screen display, 294 dpi HD resolution and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 for greater durability. The BlackBerry Classic also offers a large battery capacity and state-of-the-art battery optimization software. With up to 22 hours of battery power, you can be confident that BlackBerry Classic will be ready to deliver results when you need it.**
Premium Components – The device is built with durable materials mixed with top-of-the-line technology. This includes a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of device storage (expandable by up to 128GB via uSD), and a 2MP front- and 8MP rear-facing camera with enhanced optics and upgraded imaging sensors.
BlackBerry® 10 OS 10.3.1 – The BlackBerry Classic comes preloaded with the BlackBerry 10.3.1 operating system, offering a fresh look that incorporates updated icons and an instant action bar so that each user’s most commonly accessed functions are in the center of their screen. With this new operating system, users gain access to powerful features, including:
BlackBerry® Blend – BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Get instant message notifications, read and respond to your work and personal email, BBM™ and text messages, and access your documents, calendar, contacts and media in real time on whatever device you are on, powered by your BlackBerry.
BlackBerry® Assistant – The BlackBerry Assistant is BlackBerry’s first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. It’s the only smartphone assistant on the market today that can access both personal and work content in your work perimeter. BlackBerry Assistant intelligently determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it – if you type, it responds silently, if you speak, it speaks back and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.
BlackBerry® Hub – The one place to manage all your conversations – email, texts, BBM, phone calls, social media and more. You can even glance at what’s next in your calendar. It’s always available with a single swipe to help you stay organized, in control and on top of all your conversations.
The phone is available now in the US for $450 – we’ll let you know when it comes to the UK.
