Luxury BlackBerry P'9981 by Porsche Design Unveiled (VIDEO)
The new BlackBerry designed by Porsche Design in cooperation with Research In Motion (RIM), P’9981, was presented at an event in Dubai on Thursday.
Made in Europe, the new phone is wider and flatter, with a posh, forged stainless steel frame worthy of the luxury car maker brand, but will only be available with restrictions, as reported by Tbreak.
The phone is complete with hand-wrapped leather elements and is expected to sell for roughly $2,000 a piece.
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The phone is equipped for high-speed Internet and recording video in HD quality, according to Porsche Design.
"Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark," Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO Porsche Design Group, said in a statement. "The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment."
The company stated on its website that the new smartphone is “connected to a feature so important that it transcends all trends: It communicates a personal attitude.”
"This collaboration stems from a shared belief that form equals function," Todd Wood, SVP for Industrial Design at Research In Motion, said in a statement. "The Porsche Design P'9981 is a truly modern luxury smartphone, where the timeless style of Porsche Design meets the unmatched mobile experience provided by BlackBerry."
The opinions about the new design, however, are split. A reviewer at TechCrunch called the new smartphone „the ugliest BlackBerry I’ve seen in years.”
Tbreak, a Mideastern tech site called it „an extremely premium version of the BlackBerry Bold 9900.”
Under that new "face," the device is not very different from the previous versions, according to TechCrunch. BlackBerry Porsche features a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video, and an NFC chip. It runs on a BlackBerry 7 OS, featuring several fun details, like the custom Porsche Design font and icons, according to the tech site.
It also comes with Porsche Design UI and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience, according to Market Watch.
The luxury smartphone from BlackBerry will be available from Porsche Design stores later this year.
The below video showing BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 is courtesy of Tbreak:
