Skip to main content

RIM releases Blackberry Style with BlackBerry 6

blackberry_styleThe phone will be shipping with BlackBerry 6, the Style’s WebKit browser, integrated social feeds and enhanced multimedia features which offer a powerful and engaging BlackBerry experience.

The BlackBerry Style is the first phone by RIM to include a clamshell with full QWERTY keyboard. The manufacturer is hoping to capitalize on the youth market, who are power users of text messaging, with the full keyboard and design.

The BlackBerry Style includes a 5MP camera with flash, autofocus and video, external high resolution display (240 x 320), internal high resolution display (360 x 400), built in GPS and Wi-Fi, 512 MB Flash and micro SDHC memory card slot expandable to 32GB.

This is only the second phone from RIM to include BlackBerry 6. That provides a variety of features including  graphical, context-sensitive pop-up menus and crisp visuals, a robust WebKit browser for efficient browsing with support for tabbed browsing and redesigned core apps and new apps for downloading podcasts, watching YouTube videos, and integrating RSS and social networking feeds.

Featured in purple and gray, the BlackBerry Style smartphone will be available nationally on Oct. 31 for $99.99 (after a $100 mail-in rebate). Starting Tuesday, customers can also reserve the Steel Grey BlackBerry Style smartphone at www.sprint.com/bbstyle to be purchased on October 31. The Royal Purple color will be available in November.

Editors' Recommendations

Laura Khalil
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Laura is a tech reporter for Digital Trends, the editor of Dorkbyte and a science blogger for PBS. She's been named one of…
BlackBerry is better off dead
BlackBerry Key2 LE Hands On

I haven't seen anyone use a BlackBerry since my freshman year of high school. In fact, I thought the BlackBerry had already died by the time everyone got their hands on the iPhone and/or an Android smartphone in 2011 and I was shocked to learn that the minuscule PDA-like device was still around last month when the company that shares its name decommissioned calling and messaging services for the classic models and rendered them useless. Its death was confirmed when OnwardMobility lost the rights to the BlackBerry name despite its attempts to resurrect the brand with the BlackBerry 5G, which suffered multiple delays in 2021.

Despite being one of the most popular mobile devices in the 2000s next to the T-Mobile-exclusive Sidekick, BlackBerry didn't survive the smartphone era, even though it triggered the advent of smartphones starting with the iPhone. Given its PDA-esque design, it wasn't suitable enough to be turned into a smartphone — or, at the very least, the culturally accepted definition of a smartphone: All touchscreen, no physical QWERTY keyboard. Because of its failure to adapt to the growing smartphone market dominated solely by touchscreens, not to mention the lack of updates for the newer, surviving models — like the BlackBerry Key2 — the BlackBerry as a device is better off dead for all intents and purposes.

Read more
The BlackBerry Key2 shows why software updates really matter
BlackBerry Key2 keyboard.

When BlackBerry shut down crucial services for its old operating system at the beginning of the year, I had a sudden nostalgic urge to take out the Android-based BlackBerry Key2 and see how it performs in 2022. After all, there isn’t much like it these days, and perhaps for all those coming from a now-dead BlackBerry Curve or a Q10 may be considering a jump over to one?

What I discovered is that although the phone may not have been affected by the Blackberry services shutdown, it’s hobbled by something far more insidious: A complete lack of Android updates.
Desirable hardware
The first hour or so with it reminded me what an utter delight the BlackBerry Key2 is, as a phone. It’s almost nothing like any other mainstream phone you can buy today due to the physical keyboard under the screen, which remains a marvel to use. However, it really needs a lot of getting used to. I spent time training myself to type at a sensible speed when the Key2 was released, but my finger muscles have forgotten all that, so I stiffly tapped out words at a snail’s pace for a start.

Read more
A new BlackBerry with a keyboard is still on the schedule for 2022
BlackBerry Key2 LE review

A new BlackBerry phone is still in the cards for 2022, according to hardware partner OnwardMobility. Following a breakup with TCL in 2020, BlackBerry partnered with the little-known Texas company OnwardMobility to launch a new phone in 2021. After missing that launch period, the Onward Mobility team shared an update this week, letting BlackBerry enthusiasts know that their phone was still coming.

"Everyone has eagerly awaited additional information following our last announcement, but 2021 was truly a challenging year to launch a new phone, much less one with the high expectations we set and the fact that we want to get it right!" the OnwardMobility team wrote, "While we encountered various delays that prevented us from shipping in 2021, we will be providing more regular updates starting this month that will clarify and answer many of your questions about the ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone (still with a keyboard!) we’re bringing to market."

Read more