Well known for the QWERTY keyboards on its smartphones, BlackBerry announced a new touch and type device today in India. The BlackBerry Classic is an upgrade for the 9900 Bold and features a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 720×720 pixels and a full-QWERTY keyboard and trackpad for quick scrolling.
Inside there is an old Snapdragon S4 dual-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz with 2GB of RAM. There is 16GB of internal memory with expandable storage of 128GB via a microSD card. In the camera department, you get an 8MP rear camera with an LED flash and a front 2MP camera.
The Classic's design is quite admirable with a metal frame and a soft textured back that offers a good grip. The keyboard is sturdy and offers excellent tactile feedback and let's not forget the trackpad which makes it easy to navigate the UI. The Classic feels just like the Bold 9900 but it is better in terms of overall design and ergonomics. The display is sharp and colours are rich although under the sun, it seems to wash out a bit. The touch response is fluid and accurate and we didn't have any trouble shifting between the physical keyboard and the touchscreen. The new BB OS 10.3.1 is smooth and quite snappy on the device. BlackBerry has added more security fixes and a few more features to attract enterprise clients.
While the Classic is definitely a good BlackBerry device, its price tag of Rs. 31,999 is not justified. Firstly, the phone is powered by an old Snapdragon chip which could hamper the battery life. Secondly, although the device looks premium, even a hardcore BlackBerry fan will think twice before spending close to Rs. 32,000 on a smartphone that doesn't offer the latest hardware in the market. We will give our final verdict when we get the Classic in for review.