BlackBerry is reshaping smartphone design, literally. The new BlackBerry Passport, which was launched simultaneously in Toronto, London and Dubai, are turning heads for its unconventional square-shaped screen.
BlackBerry's second product to launch this year has a 4.5-inch square touchscreen with 1440 x 1440 resolution and touts BlackBerry's signature touch-sensitive keyboard that can also function as a touchpad so users can move through the screen, scroll down a web page or change functions simply by sliding their finger over the keyboard.
And while conventional smartphone users may find the unconventional design too boxy for their tastes, the Canadian smartphone maker has made it clear that it's audaciously square-screen smartphone was not made for the mainstream market. In a bid to regain its lost market share, which has by all accounts dwindled to negligible levels, BlackBerry is going back to its roots in the business sector, where the embattled technology company has gained a loyal following for its secure software and services.
"We were guided by a simple yet challenging idea - to set aside the limitations of traditional design and to instead simply build a device that fundamentally changes the way business professionals get work done on their smartphone," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen.
Unlike with the narrow, rectangular screens of other smartphones, the Passport allows professionals on the go to do things they would normally put off doing on their phones until they get to a computer, such as work on spreadsheets, type long emails or view X-ray images. BlackBerry says business users account for 30 percent of the overall market share and has high hopes that the Passport will help the company regain some of its glory lost to the old days.
Indeed, the BlackBerry Passport could already be working its magic, as a quick look at the BlackBerry website shows that the company has already run out of stock. Of course, this does not necessarily indicate high demand since BlackBerry did not specify how many units of Passport it sold at launch. But an informal poll conducted by The Verge asking readers to choose which among the latest smartphones "has done the most to revive your desire for a new handset," the BlackBerry Passport hands down bested other devices as the "most exciting smartphone" of the month.
Apple's very popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus garnered 6,128 votes or only 15 percent of all votes, while the Passport ran away with 47 percent or 18,381 votes. Motorola's Moto X, which is said to be one of the best Android flagships on the market, comes in third, followed by the Sony Xperia Z3 and Samsung's Galaxy Alpha, Note 4 and Note Edge.
