Good news if you love BlackBerry and yearn for something new, because Australians will be able to get their mitts on a new phone made in the image of the older phones. That’s (the) Classic, BlackBerry.
Late last year, BlackBerry sent word that it wasn’t done in the mobile world, with a new phone coming in the new year.
This phone would be called the “Classic”, and would be built from a slightly sleeker design based on the Bold and Curve models before it, with a 3.5 inch square touchscreen, recent 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, 16GB storage, microSD slot for expanding this, and yes, the classic keyboard and optical trackpad.
Back when BlackBerry announced the handset last year, its CEO John Chen said “we listened closely to our customers’ feedback to ensure we are delivering the technologies to power them through their day – and that feedback led directly to the development of BlackBerry Classic.”
As such, the new handset evolves the Bold handsets from BlackBerry previously, with improvements to battery life boasting as much as 22 hours of life, while its BlackBerry 10 operating system includes a virtual assistant (aptly named the “BlackBerry Assistant”) that can be spoken to in the same way as you might with Google Now or Apple’s Siri, while a new feature BlackBerry Blend delivers the information from the BlackBerry Classic to tablets and computers not directly connected with the device, meaning you’ll be able to check messages on iPads, Android tablets, Windows, and Macs.
In Australia, Telstra will be taking this phone, with BlackBerry Australia’s Managing Director Matthew Ball saying “we’re delighted to partner with Telstra to launch our latest device, which is purpose-built for Australian customers who just want to get things done.”
“The BlackBerry Classic is the powerful communication tool that many of our previous BlackBerry Bold and Curve users have been waiting for – a secure device that feels familiar in your hands, but with the added performance and agility for optimal productivity when you’re on the move,” said Ball.
Both BlackBerry and Telstra have yet to pass through an outright price to us, but we have seen Telstra’s plans for the phone which start at $63 per month on a 24 month plan. If this is a phone that grabs you, you’ll find it in Telstra stores very shortly.
