BlackBerry officially launches the Classic

BlackBerry 10
Android apps
Productivity apps like Hub
Brickbreaker

A full QWERTY keyboard and physical navigation keys round out the Classic’s throwback design

The BlackBerry Classic has officially been launched by the company after being teased for over a year by the company’s CEO, John Chen. The phone is said to bring back the contemporary look and feel of the BlackBerry and hence the name Classic, with a design which is hardly any different from the older versions such as the Bold. The phone comes with a full QWERTY physical keyboard and physical navigation keys and a screen which is considerably smaller than that of the Passport which was launched this year. The overall size of the phone is also compact enough to be easily held and used with one hand.

BlackBerry says that the Classic is going to attract that segment of the market which is already used to the BlackBerry platform and loves the experience. It is the ideal choice for those who want a latest version from BlackBerry but at the same time don’t want to leave the traditional BlackBerry feel.

The phone features a square, 720 x 720 pixel, 3.5-inch touchscreen perched above the keyboard and navigation keys and is not just smaller than the 4.5 inches on Passport but also smaller than the average size of a smartphone. The phone, having 2 GB of RAM, is powered by an aging dual-core Qualcomm processor from 2012 which isn’t the ideal situation for mobile gaming but suits perfectly the requirement of plowing through thousands of emails a day, which is what BlackBerry expects Classic users to do. And the highlight of the Classic is its ability to support running of Android apps.

The phone sports an 8 MP back camera and a 2 MP front shooter and runs on BlackBerry 10 OS which provides the use of productivity apps such as Hub, Assistant, and Blend. The phone is available for purchase at local carriers around the world and AT&T and Verizon have confirmed they will sell the device in 2015. You can also have an unlocked version of the phone from BlackBerry and Amazon’s online stores for $449.

source: blackberry