It’s been a while since BlackBerry’s name meant something in the world of cell phones, but the now-troubled company is intent on letting consumers know that it’s still in the game, and still churning out devices like it used to.
When we said “churning out devices like it used to,” we mean manufacturing throwbacks to the halcyon days of BlackBerry, as an open letter from BlackBerry CEO John Chen said earlier today that it is re-launching the device once known as the BlackBerry Q20. That phone will be repackaged as the BlackBerry Classic, and will serve as a throwback to what the Waterloo, Ont. company used to do so well, meaning releasing smartphones that come with distinctive QWERTY keyboards and trackpads.
The BlackBerry Classic, as we hinted above, is not a new device per se. It was first launched in February 2014 and originally introduced for the enterprise market, and it was set for a late 2014 release date. It looks like BlackBerry still wants to target this phone towards enterprise users, but the company has a tall order ahead of it, as large companies and government agencies appear more sold on the iPhone, as well as Android-powered handsets, as opposed to the BlackBerry phones of old.
Still, Chen remains confident that the BlackBerry Classic would be able to attract the attention of longtime loyalists, while simultaneously courting some new customers with its throwback look and feel. He says that the company has “made quite a few enhancements” in terms of design and basic specifications, and that the BlackBerry 10 mobile platform “incorporates all the best productivity and collaboration features on any mobile device.”