For BlackBerry, now is a great time to announce a brand new smartphone, as it’s sure to get plenty of positive attention and perhaps, lots of new customers. Let’s face it, they could do with both. Unfortunately, the phone it has revealed is the Porsche Design P‘9982. This is BlackBerry’s second collaboration with Porsche Design, following the P‘9981, and has been based on the BlackBerry Z10.
Seeing as few people want the BlackBerry Z10 even at a low price, it’ll be interesting to see how many want a more expensive model. How much more does it cost? The exact price is still to be confirmed, but it’s going to be in the region of £1,500, or about $2,400. That’s obviously an unconnected price, and although BlackBerry says it’ll be coming to some networks in the future, it’ll primarily be sold through Porsche Design’s own boutiques, and the Harrods department store in London.
So what’s the phone like? Well, it’s a BlackBerry Z10, so it has a 4.2-inch touchscreen with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and the BlackBerry 10 operating system. The Porsche Design P‘9982 will come with version 10.2 installed from the factory.
The alterations are cosmetic, with the redesigned satin-look shell being made from stainless steel, and the rear panel covered in Italian leather. A limited edition model will change the Italian hide for crocodile, and only 500 models will be produced. To increase the exclusivity, a special Porsche Design-only BBM PIN number will be issued with each phone, so you know you’re conversing with others who, like you, made a rather strange smartphone purchasing decision.
BlackBerry and Porsche Design will launch the P‘9982 on November 21, and the limited edition crocodile leather phone will follow in December, when it’ll only be sold through the Porsche Design store inside Harrods.
