Not to be outdone by the new iPhones or Galaxy Notes, BlackBerry is shouting “me too!” with the introduction of a new smartphone. Meet the Porsche Design P’9983, a slightly re-skined and re-worked BlackBerry Q10 with a 3.1-inch touchscreen.
Codenamed “Khan” the handset combines BlackBerry’s signature hardware QWERTY keyboard with a touchscreen – just like the BlackBerry Q10. Its styling is similar to that of its predecessor, the BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981.
It is the third smartphone collaboration between BlackBerry and Porsche Design and the first QWERTY version with BlackBerry 10 OS. It features glass-like keys with the durability of rigid synthetic material, and a special 3D effect with silver font characters. The device integrates premium quality materials such as sapphire glass for the camera lens, forged stainless steel for the Porsche Design floating logo and chassis, and a glass-weave technology for the back door.
The new premium smartphone from BlackBerry comes with BlackBerry 10 goodies such as BlackBerry Hub, and BlackBerry World (for downloading business and productivity apps). Apart from BlackBerry World, the Porsche Design P'9983 running BlackBerry 10.3 was detailed by the official BlackBerry blog post to come with access to Amazon's Appstore for Android.
Aftermarket accessories for the premium smartphone will also be available including handcrafted fine Italian leather backdoors available in colours Yellow, Blue Green, Dark Brown, Pomegranate, Paloma Grey, Salsa, Blue and Orange.
The phone has a 3.1-inch touch display (720x720p), and is powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB RAM. It has 64GB internal storage and a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 128GB. The phone comes with a 2100mAh battery, an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. It supports 3G, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.
Key Features
- A revolution of the BlackBerry Keyboard : The unique, elegantly-designed BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard continues to provide the very best typing experience. Personalized auto correction and next word suggestion help you type faster, more accurately and with the least amount of effort. This superior keyboard also has specially crafted glass-like keys with the durability of rigid synthetic material, and a special 3D effect with silver font characters.
- Secure communications : You need to know that whatever you do on your smartphone to stay competitive and on top stays private. BlackBerry brings world class security through encrypted BBM instant messaging for your business and personal needs, so you can feel safe in the knowledge all your communications are safe and secure.
- Instantly recognizable : Be instantly recognizable amongst Porsche Design users. The Porsche Design P'9983 smartphone from BlackBerry provides an exclusive Porsche Design PIN ID group - 2AAXXXXX, which sets you apart and makes you instantly recognizable among other Porsche Design users.
- Your personal assistant : BlackBerry Assistant allows you to manage your email, contacts, calendar and other BlackBerry 10 features through voice and text commands. It helps you to execute tasks quickly such as responding to important emails, scheduling a meeting or getting directions. BlackBerry Assistant is intelligent enough to respond to you based on your situation. Speak freely to it and it will respond in kind. Type a query and it will respond simply with information on the screen. When you're connected to Bluetooth in the car, it knows you can't look at the screen and will interact with you completely eyes and hands free.
- All your messages in one place : BlackBerry Hub is the one place to manage all your conversations – email, text, BBM, phone calls, social media and more. The all-new instant actions feature will allow you to quickly organize and action your inbox without having to go into each individual message. Plus, BlackBerry Priority Hub will get to know you and how you use your smartphone, curating a view of the most important messages and notifications. And it's always available with a single swipe to help you stay organized, in control and on top of all your conversations.
- Battery power to keep up with you : BlackBerry is well known for amazing battery life. With a removable 2100 mAh battery and optimization of power consumption in BlackBerry 10, the P'9983 from BlackBerry delivers exceptional battery performance. Have peace of mind knowing you can be productive and in touch with people that matter when it matters.
- Get more out of every conversation : Chat face-to-face with BBM Video, and even share what's on your screen, while enjoying better sound quality. BlackBerry Natural Sound technology enables you to hear nuances and variations in tone, giving your BBM Voice and BBM Video calls a clearer, more natural quality.
- Fast, responsive browser : The BlackBerry Browser on BlackBerry 10 has been completely reinvented to help you quickly browse, read, and share online content. Pages load incredibly fast, render beautifully and can be formatted for your screen, making web pages easier to read.
- Apps : Productivity apps in BlackBerry World: It's important to have the right tools to get any job done with speed and excellence. You can find the very best productivity apps, scanned for malware, available directly from BlackBerry® World. / Android apps & games from the Amazon Appstore: On BlackBerry 10, you can also discover and download Android™ apps such as Minecraft – Pocket Edition, Pinterest and Candy Crush Saga through the Amazon Appstore.
According to the product page, the P’9983 rocks a slightly redesigned physical keyboard. Glass keys. If that’s important to you.