With the BlackBerry Classic smartphone hitting the shelves, Canadian smartphone pioneer BlackBerry is hoping to capitalize on the nostalgia surrounding early 21st century phones.
The BlackBerry Classic hinges its success on the QWERTY keyboard. The phone is a throwback to yesteryears when touchscreens hadn't yet ruled the market. It would be interesting then to see if BlackBerry's strategy bears any fruit.
The company, it seems, has taken note of user preferences and feedback as the BlackBerry Classic is definitely not bulky and awkward-looking like sibling BlackBerry Passport. The smartphone is perfect for single-handed use unlike the BlackBerry Passport. The Classic also looks attractive (and sturdy) thanks to the stainless steel framing. The rear, however, is still made of plastic.
The BlackBerry Classic weighs 6.3 ounces and may feel a tad heavy. However, it isn't unlike several big-screen smartphones that feel delicate to the touch and make you live in perennial fear of "what if you drop it." With the BlackBerry Classic, you're safe on that count.
The smartphone sports a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display with Gorilla Glass. It has a 720 x 720 pixel resolution (249 ppi) and 1:1 aspect ratio, which pales in comparison to the BlackBerry Passport. The BlackBerry Classic also houses a reasonably powerful dual-core processor from Qualcomm, which is clocked at 1.5GHz.
Running on the BlackBerry 10 OS, the device also has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard memory (expandable to 128GB).
The smartphone deploys the latest BlackBerry browser, which the company claims is quicker than Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
The 8 MP primary camera on the smartphone is average at best. It has autofocus, flash and OIS, but it cannot compete with the Samsung and Sony offerings that are in the same price bracket. The secondary camera is 2 MP.
An iPhone-like feature that the BlackBerry Classic has taken onboard is the nano-SIM. However, its USP remains the keyboard, which in this case does not disappoint as it is quite accurate and spacious.
The BlackBerry Classic has three rows of keys that are spaced across the width of the device. The fourth row, which is the tiniest, is below these. The keys have little ridges and are slightly depressed so when you touch type, you're completely in the know of when your fingers are shifting swiftly between different keys. Add to that the click sound each time you press, which boosts confidence. If accurate typing has been your bane, you can surmount this challenge with the Classic.
Users even have utility-oriented keys, such as Back, Menu, Call and End at their disposal. There's also an optical touchpad that acts like a cursor. Users can also deploy shortcut keys to access certain functions faster.
While the four-row keyboard is stellar, on the flipside, it compromises on the screen size, making it feel a tad cramped and small in this age of phablets.
Compared to other smartphone offerings, the Classic is not that powerful, but the fact that it offers great battery life is a bonus. If you want the smartphone for viewing apps like Netflix or even Google Maps, or playing games like Minecraft, consider another phone. The limited app selection disappoints and several Android apps may look squarish owing to the aspect ratio issue.
However, if you're looking for a phone for basic web surfing or reading emails, then the BlackBerry Classic would fit the bill.
