Back when I had been just a little lad, the Blackberry had always been the phone that only businessmen or those higher-up in the corporate ladder would ever own. Nowadays though, with smartphones getting cheaper by the minute, I had all but forgotten that the Blackberry still exists. So I had been rather amused when I received the Blackberry Classic for review. I even stopped to wonder if the advent of smartphones has made the Blackberry obsolete. Spoiler alert: It hasn’t.
A Bold Throwback
As the name probably gave it away, the Blackberry Classic’s design is a callback to the good old days of Blackberry phones. As such, the Classic is pretty much a throwback to the original Blackberry Bold but with some extra twists that warrants a redesigned tag on it. In comparison with the smartphones of today, the Blackberry has a shorter, albeit wider frame than most smartphones in the market today.
Keys To The Kingdom
The biggest selling point of the Blackberry Classic has to be its QWERTY keyboard. Coming from years of touchscreen keyboards, I must say that I enjoyed the tactile feedback of the Classic’s keyboard. Not only is it big enough for my fingers to work on without too many errors, it also happens to be very responsive. However, the trade-off for using this is the screen size being made as one of the smallest screens I’ve come across.
Productivity In Mind
If you’ve never used a Blackberry before, I suggest reading through the manual before navigating it as the device can be rather confusing for a first timer. Once you worked pass that though, the Classic is a great device for productivity purposes.
Nostalgia Isn’t Lost
One minor downside to the Blackberry Classic is the fact that it runs on the Blackberry OS. This leads to a lack of apps when compared to Android Play and iTunes Store. I’d argue though, that the Blackberry doesn’t need the app catalogue like Android or iOS smartphones as it is designed with a specific purpose in mind. If you’re looking for a new phone to play with, the Blackberry Classic isn’t for you. However, if you’re looking for a phone that maximises productivity, then the Blackberry is what you want.
Value: 7/10
Performance: 9/10
Feature: 9/10
Design: 9/10
Usability: 8/10
Specs:
Dimension (W x H x D): 131 x 72.4 x 10.2mm
Weight: 177g
Processor: Dual Core 1.5 GHz Krait
Graphics: Adreno 225
Memory: 2GB RAM
Display: 3.5in capacitive touchscreen, 720 x 720 resolution
Storage: 16GB internal, microSD up to 128GB
Camera: 8MP rear, 2MP front
Operating System: Blackberry 10.3.1 OS
Battery: 2515 mAh Li-Ion Battery
Verdict: A modern day Blackberry with an old school design
