BlackBerry Classic hands-on, first impressions

Yesterday, BlackBerry launched in the Philippines the Classic, a smartphone that packs a QWERTY keyboard, 3.5-inch square screen, and old-school trackpad. Find out what we think of the device by reading our hands-on.

If you’ve been following BlackBerry’s progress when it comes to smartphones you might notice that the Classic’s design was inspired by two devices the company has launched in the past, specifically the Q10 and the Bold 9900.

Like the Q10, the Classic has the keys arranged in straight rows, and like the Bold 9900, it features a metal frame and classic navigation keys and optical trackpad.

Photo by PhoneArena

Like most successors, the Classic has lesser curves and looks more corporate compared to the previous devices.

On the front we have the 3.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 720 x 720 or 294ppi and mounted with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. Above that are the earpiece, light sensor, and notification LED.

Down below are the classic physical navigation and menu keys as well as the signature QWERTY keyboard.

On the left we have the SIM and microSD card trays

Situated on the right are the volume keys.

Sitting right on top are the power/lock button and the headset jack.

Found at the bottom are the microUSB port and a couple of grills for the speaker and microphone.

Flip it on its back and you’ll see the 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and the BlackBerry badge.

On hand, the Classic is comfortable to hold even though it is larger than its predecessors. The rear part is made of plastic with a slightly rough texture for added grip. The metal frame, on the other, hand is cool to the touch and frees the Classic from being too plasticky.

BlackBerry Classic specs:
3.5-inch Touchscreen display (720×720), 294ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 dual-core CPU
Adreno 225 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
8MP autofocus rear camera with LED Flash
2MP front camera
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 LE w/ A2DP
NFC
GPS, A-GPS
2,515mAh Li-Ion battery (non-removable)
BlackBerry OS 10.3.1
131 x 72.4 x 10.2 mm
177 g

As mentioned in our initial report, the BlackBerry Classic has a price tag of Php20,990 (cash) and will go on sale from February 5, 2015 via MemoXpress.