This is the third handset in collaboration with Porsche

Sep 18, 2014 11:55 GMT  ·  By

As expected, BlackBerry pulled the wraps off the Porsche Design P’9983 smartphone, which was designed in collaboration with the Porsche Design luxury brand.

To make everything even more premium, the handset maker announced the new smartphone during a fancy press conference in Dubai, saying interested customers will be able to pick it up starting this October from the Porsche Design stores, select carriers and retailers.

The third product under the BlackBerry / Porsche Design umbrella comes out

BlackBerry and Porsche Design’s love affair started some time ago and the two companies are already the proud parents of two spawns, namely the BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 and Porsche Design P’9982.

The third smartphone from the line, the P’9983 is said to be the first QWERTY version with BlackBerry 10 and specially crafted glass-like keys. These keys are quite special because they are made of a rigid synthetic material that ensures their durability and boast a special 3D effect with silver front characters.

Each customer purchasing a Porsche Design P’9983 will be granted an exclusive Porsche Design PIN, which acts as a Unique PIN for each handset.

The smartphone arrives with BlackBerry 10 software pre-installed, such as BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry world where users get to download business and productivity apps from.

BlackBerry wants to fill your Android void

As for OS, the handset takes advantage of the official BlackBerry 10.3 which as you might already know, offers access to Amazon’s Appstore for Android. An interesting function that you won’t see on many other smartphones.

The deal between BlackBerry and Amazon will allow those working with devices running the OS to have access to around 240,000 Android apps from the Amazon App Store. It appears BlackBerry wants to make sure customers won’t be missing the Android experience at all.

The new handset is a premium device, manufactured of high-quality materials. For example, the camera lens is made out of sapphire glass, while the Porsche Design logo and chassis have received the stainless steel treatment.

Along with the phone, BlackBerry will be offering accessories in the form of a handcrafted fine Italian leather backdoors in Yellow, Blue Green, Dark Brown, Pomegranate, Paloma Grey, Salsa, Blue and Orange.

As for raw specifications, the BlackBerry Porsche Design boasts a 3.1-inch HD touch screen and draws life from a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) chip clocked at 1.5GHz fitted with 2GB Of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable to 128GB via microSD).

It’s not the most mind-blowing in terms of specs, but it’s not really bad either. It also takes advantage of two cameras (8MP on the back and 2MP up in front), 2100 mAh battery, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE, microUSB, micro HDMI and FM radio.

BlackBerry makes a point in highlighting that the battery can deliver “exceptional performance” because it takes advantage of some technology for optimization power consumption, but we’re not given any numbers.

So far, BlackBerry didn't say how much the handset would cost, but it won’t come cheap (above $2000 / €1554 to be sure).

BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9983 Handset (3 Images)

BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9983 goes official
BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9983 offers Android apps via the Amazon App StoreBlackBerry Porsche Design P’9983 uses premium materials
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