BlackBerry’s boss really wants you to love its new Classic phone, hypes it in blog post

By Trevor Mogg October 30, 2014

blackberry classic touted by john chen as launch nears leak front — Image used with permission by copyright holder

BlackBerry boss John Chen took to the company’s official blog on Wednesday to sound off about its new Classic handset, a device it hopes will go toward helping to revive the firm’s fortunes.

With a traditional BlackBerry design, but with new tech and a bigger and better display, Chen is hoping the yet-to-launch phone will appeal to the many users who jumped ship – or who’re thinking of doing so – to iOS or Android.

In the 400-word post, BlackBerry’s boss said that while it’s tempting “to mimic what’s trendy and match the industry-standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people….there’s also something to be said for the classic adage, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.'”

The BB10 phone, which Chen said this week will land in December, will be the company’s fourth smartphone launch of 2014, following in the footsteps of the Z3, the P’9983, and the Passport.

Besides coaxing back former users, Chen also hopes to boost revenue by getting current BlackBerry users with older devices to upgrade to the Classic, which is also known as the Q20: “We recognize that a lot of you continue to hold on to your Bold devices because they get the job done, day in day out – just like you,” Chen writes, adding, “We get it, and we’ve got you covered.”

Besides BlackBerry’s iconic physical QWERTY keyboard, the Classic also features a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a trackpad, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage expandable to 128GB, and an 8-megapixel camera with a 2-megapixel one on the front. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and runs version 10.3 of BlackBerry’s latest mobile OS.

In his blog post, the man brought in to save BlackBerry (and who followed another one that didn’t) also reassured current and (any) new customers that the firm is “in it for the long haul,” with no intention of quitting the business that once made it Canada’s most valuable company.

Editors' Recommendations

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

BlackBerry Key2 LE: Everything you need to know

The BlackBerry Key2 LE is back home at Verizon, but only for business types

BlackBerry Key2 LE Hands On

The BlackBerry Key LE is a lower-cost version of the Key2, doing away with some of the more high-tech features seen on the expensive sister phone, and cutting costs by using different materials for the body, to create a more affordable but still distinctly BlackBerry smartphone.

You can check out our Key2 LE review to learn more about what it's like to live with the phone, but in the meantime, here are all the technical specs, details, and availability options.
Updates
The BlackBerry Key2 LE is available to buy at Verizon, but only to business and enterprise customers, according to reports. Verizon's selling the Key2 LE for $450 without a contract, or for $100 if you sign up for a two-year plan. The phone does not show up on Verizon's non-business store, so there does not seem to be the option to buy the phone for this price without a business plan.

Mobile

Best Amazon Fire tablet deals: Save on Fire HD 8, Fire Max 11 and more

The Amazon Kindle Fire Max 11's Home screen.

Tablets have become household tech at this point, and because of that there are a lot of quality options to turn to if you’re looking for one of the best tablets but don’t want to break the bank. One of the better lineups to shop for both quality and affordability is Amazon’s Fire tablet lineup, which always seems to have something among the best tablet deals. We’re seeing some good Amazon Fire tablet deals out there, and we’ve rounded up all of the best Amazon Fire tablet deals below. While much of what’s currently out there are deals on refurbished models, reading onward you’ll find savings on the Fire HD 8, the Fire Max 11, and other great tablets in the Amazon Fire lineup.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (refurbished) -- $55, was $85

If you just need a basic tablet for simple functions such as browsing the internet, doing online shopping, and watching streaming shows, the incredibly affordable Amazon Fire HD 8 may be enough. It's not going to wow you with its performance, as it's only equipped with 2GB of RAM with limited storage of 32GB, but it's got an 8-inch touchscreen with HD resolution and built-in support for Amazon's Alexa, so if that's all you need, go for the Amazon Fire HD 8.

Mobile

Stop! Don’t buy this iPad at Best Buy today

The iPad 10.2 is great for reading.

For those who want to buy one of Apple's iPads but within a tight budget, the highly recommended option is the ninth-generation Apple iPad. The Wi-Fi, 64GB model is pretty cheap for its , which is how much it's going for on Best Buy, but you'll enjoy savings of $80 if you purchase the tablet from Walmart, where it's available for just $249. You're going to have to be quick in completing the transaction though -- with more than 500 units sold over the past 24 hours, we're not sure how much time is remaining before stocks run out.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad 9th Gen
The ninth-generation Apple iPad was released in 2021, but it's still in our roundup of the best iPads as the best iPad on a budget. While it's not as powerful as the latest models of Apple's tablets, it still provides decent performance for most daily tasks with its A13 Bionic chip, which is the same processor that's found in the iPhone 11 series. The tablet ships with iPadOS 15, but you can upgrade it to the latest iPadOS 17 right after unboxing it to be able to access the operating system's latest features.