At the MWC 2014, BlackBerry revealed plans to roll out two new smartphones this year – BlackBerry Z3 codenamed ‘Jakarta’ and the BlackBerry Q20.
The company announced that the Z3, a full-touch smartphone featuring 5-inch display with qHD resolution, will be running on BlackBerry 10.2. The device packs a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 chipset, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB Internal storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.1-megapixel front camera, and will go on sale in Indonesia in April at $200.
The BlackBerry Q20, claimed to be “Blackberry Classic” by the CEO is the next in the lineup of the Q10 devices. BlackBerry has gone back to its roots to retain the familiar ‘Menu’, ‘Send’, ‘Back’ and ‘End’ buttons and the integral trackpad.
“In my first 90 days on the job, I consistently heard from our ardent BlackBerry customers that the hard buttons and trackpad are an essential part of the BlackBerry QWERTY experience that made their BlackBerry smartphone their go-to productivity tool. I want these customers to know that we heard them, and this new smartphone will be for them,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO at BlackBerry in a press release.
“Today, we’re delighted to announce the new BlackBerry Q20 smartphone, which is designed to give you the distinct experience, that every BlackBerry QWERTY loyalist and high-productivity business customer absolutely loves. With the BlackBerry Q20 smartphone, you’ll get the familiar hard buttons and trackpad that you want, along with the best email service, the best keyboard experience and the best battery life possible.”
BlackBerry Q20 will sport a 3.5 inch display – “the largest yet” on QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone and come with the latest enhancements in BlackBerry 10. The new flagship BlackBerry Q20 will go on sale before the end of this calendar year.
BlackBerry, however, has the full specifications of the BlackBerry Q20, under wraps.
