New Delhi: BlackBerry has launched its latest Passport smartphone at events in Toronto, Dubai, and London. This is the first major phone launch in nearly two years that underscores Chief Executive John Chen's commitment to the device business. Chen hopes that the handset's large screen and apps meant for professionals will win back its traditional corporate and government customers.
The new handset would be retailing at $599 (Rs 36,500 approximately) for the unlocked version in the US. The BlackBerry Passport (unlocked) will be available through ShopBlackBerry.com for customers in Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US immediately following the launch. The device is likely to be launched at an event on September 29 in India.
The new smartphone is big and bulky and at 194 grams, the device is heavier than the iPhone 6 Plus or any other phablet out there. It's also thicker at 128 x 90.3 x 9.3 mm, and features a Nano-SIM card slot.
The device offers a 4.5-inch 1440x1440 pixel resolution IPS LCD display (with a pixel density of 453ppi), besides the three-line hardware keyboard with capacitive touch sensitivity. This allows users to perform gestures, select auto-complete suggestions, and scroll across lists.
BlackBerry Passport is powered by a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, and has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The handset is fueled by a 3450 mAh battery that promises 30 hours of usage between charges.
The handset offers 32GB of inbuilt storage that's expandable storage via microSD card (up to 128GB). It also has a 13-megapixel rear OIS camera with a BSI sensor; a 2-megapixel front camera.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Micro-USB + Micro-HDMI via SlimPort, USB OTG, NFC, GPS, DLNA, Glonass, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, and 4G LTE.
The BlackBerry Passport runs the new BlackBerry 10.3 OS onboard, which brings such features as BlackBerry Assistant, and a brand new BlackBerry Hub with Instant Actions. With BlackBerry 10.3, users also get access to the Amazon Appstore for Android and roughly 240,000 apps.
Assistant is BlackBerry's answer to Apple's Siri and Google Now, and is designed to let users interact with their Passport using vocal or written commands. The company says BlackBerry Assistant has been specifically designed for work, and can access both work and personal information even with enterprise level security. It also said the new OS has a revamped interface which better meets the needs of the mobile professional.
Users can access the BlackBerry Hub by swiping to the left of the screen. Good for power user, the Hub lets you see all your emails, Facebook, Twitter and other notifications in one place, as well as respond to them.
Overall, the BlackBerry Passport is an earnest attempt by the Canadian devicemaker. If BlackBerry can get corporate workers to try it…then certainly the Passwort has a future, although a limited one.
