Blackberry might be one of the least talked about smartphone companies on the market today, but it has also been a company that is not about to just sit tight and let the competition blow by them. According to reports that are posting to the internet this week, Blackberry will be releasing a new smartphone this month and it will be called the Blackberry Classic. Originally, the phone was named the Blackberry Q20, but it looked so much like the original Blackberry models, the company went with a new name.
The Blackberry Classic has a couple of shout-outs to the original and that includes the keyboard located directly under the 720×720 display. Still keeping the full QWERTY keyboard on the newest models, Blackberry is one of the few that offer the option as more smartphone makers went straight to the all touch screen models since the iPhone arrived on the market. The new smartphone is also going to have some new features built into the keyboard to bring a more modern feel to it.
According to sources, the keyboard is going to have some integrated swiping motions that consumers will be able to take advantage of. Gesturing will allow users to control their phone without having to actually touch it. There are demo videos that Blackberry released and showcase the new keyboard on the Q20. Other specs that you are sure to find on the Blackberry Classic include 16GB of internal memory, 2GB of RAM and the 3.4-inch touch screen display located right above the keyboard. The phone is also going to feature a dual-core processor that is clocked at 1.5GHz.
Blackberry has been working hard to also release phones that will come with an all touch screen display, but those have not gained that much popularity as the company would have hoped. The lack of market share could be because of the Blackberry name and how consumers might perceive the company as one that is stuck in the early 2000’s when it comes to smartphones. It could also be coming from the fact that Blackberry does not seem to want to modernize the handsets like all of the other big name smartphone makers have.
Blackberry announced the new phone and is expecting to be taking pre-orders in the United Kingdom for it by the middle of this month. The price in the United States is reportedly going to be around $440 on what most consider a mid-range smartphone at best.