File photo of A Canadian flag waves in front of a Blackberry logo at the Blackberry campus in Waterloo, September 23, 2013. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
File Photo of A Canadian flag waves in front of a Blackberry logo at the Blackberry campus in Waterloo, September 23, 2013. Reuters/Mark Blinch

Physical QWERTY Keyboard fans can rejoice over the holiday season by purchasing the brand new BlackBerry Classic smartphone, also referred as BlackBerry Q20. The much-awaited BlackBerry Classic has been rumour mill's favourite child for quite some time now. However, now, this smartphone can be pre-ordered from BlackBerry's online store starting Friday, Nov. 14.

The BlackBerry Classic with its retro charm flaunts a candy-bar styling with full physical QWERTY keyboard beneath the modest screen. Notably, the U.S. customers can pre-order the Classic as an unlocked version and hence there is no contract involved with carrier restriction. Nonetheless, first-time BlackBerry shoppers must note that, this handset supports GSM carriers only. Therefore, the device will not work under Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular network, according to GSM Arena.

As far as the price goes, the BlackBerry Classic will set the buyers back by US$449. However, the information pertaining to the release date will be publicly announced on Dec. 17, at the launch event. BlackBerry has taken the unconventional route of letting the customers pre-order first and then launch the device later. Moreover, according to the company's site, the shipment of the pre-ordered device would start in mid-December time frame.

Moving on to the key specifications, the BlackBerry Classic features a 3.46-inch display with 720 x 720 pixels screen resolution, which translates to a pixel density of 291 ppi. The handset is powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 SoC and backed by a good 2 GB of RAM configuration. On the software end, it runs on BlackBerry 10.3 OS. It is worth noting that, BlackBerry is planning an upgrade to the latest version of BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 shortly.

Speaking of camera, the device sports an 8 MP rear-facing unit with LED flash and a 2 MP front-facing snapper for selfies. There is a 16 GB of in-built storage with microSD card support for expansion up to a whopping 128 GB. Plus, this whole configuration is powered by a solid Li-Ion 2,515 mAh battery unit. In addition to the standard connectivity options, the Classic also supports NFC and LTE. Lastly, the handset employs nano-SIM and it comes in the standard black hue.

Potential buyers can pre-order the BlackBerry Classic from BlackBerry Store. Moreover, there is a Q&A section right beneath the pre-order section for all the questions buyers might have. It is worth re-iterating that, this device works only on GSM network and hence the carrier choice is between AT&T and T-Mobile.

Also Read

1. Android 5.1 Caught Running On Nexus 5 At Devoxx Conference In Belgium - [Read]

2. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 And Motorola DROID Turbo Trump Nexus 6 In Battery Life Test - [Read]

3. Sony Xperia Z4, Z4 Compact, Z4 Ultra Phablet And Z4 Tablet Set For CES 2015 Debut - [Read]

RELATED STORIES