BlackBerry, Canadian smartphone maker, says it has released the much anticipated smartphone, with new form factor, in line with its strategy to arm mobile professionals with tools that make them more productive.
Featuring a large square touch screen and new QWERTY touch-enabled keyboard, the BlackBerry Passport is a device purpose-built for productivity-driven business professionals who want a smartphone that empowers them with the mobile tools they need to get things done, without sacrificing style or portability.
“As we set out to design BlackBerry Passport, we were guided by a simple yet challenging idea – to set aside the limitations of traditional design and to instead simply build a device that fundamentally changes the way business professionals get work done on their smartphone,” said John Chen, chief executive officer at BlackBerry. According to him, the BlackBerry Passport was created to drive productivity and to break through the sea of rectangular-screen, all-touch devices. Inspired by actual passports, the universal symbol of mobility, the size and form factor of BlackBerry Passport is portable enough to easily tuck into pockets and use wherever you go. Utilising premium, robust materials such as Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for the display and forged stainless steel for added strength, BlackBerry Passport will provide the durability business professionals require in a smartphone.
The large square screen is optimized for viewing and creating content, and will make everyday tasks like reading and writing emails, reviewing and editing documents, web browsing, and map navigation, more comfortable and effortless. The BlackBerry Passport includes the industry’s first touch-enabled keyboard with gestures that make typing, editing and navigating more efficient and accurate. BlackBerry’s physical QWERTY keyboards have always made it easier for users to create polished, professional communications with exceptional accuracy. BlackBerry Passport’s new QWERTY keyboard is almost four times more accurate than BlackBerry 10 virtual keyboards – the error rate is on average 74 percent lower – so there are fewer typos to get in the way of what you’re trying to say. The BlackBerry Passport along with Porsche Design P’9983 smartphone from BlackBerry, are the first devices to launch on BlackBerry’s latest OS platform, BlackBerry 10.3.
They come preloaded with new productivity-enhancing features including BlackBerry Blend and BlackBerry Assistant, as well as the BlackBerry® World™ storefront and Amazon Appstore, offering access to the very best apps for work and play.
BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Get instant message notifications, read and respond to your work and personal email, BBM or text messages, and access your documents, calendar, contacts and media in real time on whatever device you are on, powered by your BlackBerry. BlackBerry Blend is being introduced on the BlackBerry Passport and will work across desktop operating systems, including Mac OS X 10.7 +, Windows 7+ and Android tablets running Android 4.4+ via cellular, USB or Wi-Fi connections. BlackBerry is also working to bring the Blend experience on other tablets soon. The downloadable version of BlackBerry Blend for Macs and PCs is available today at www.BlackBerry.com/Blend, or via the Google Play Store for Android tablets. Highlight features of the BlackBerry Passport include: Large High-Resolution Square Screen, Innovative BlackBerry Keyboard, BlackBerry® 10 OS 10.3, Best-in-Class Battery Life, as well as dual app storefronts for a wealth of professional and popular apps. Another unique feature of the Passport is the BlackBerry Assistant. It is BlackBerry’s first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. BlackBerry Assistant intelligently determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it – if you type, it responds silently, if you speak, it speaks back and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.
