Yesterday Trends of U.S.A. News Network: BlackBerry

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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Updated: BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982 launches as metal clad Z10

Shiny, shiny BlackBerry

What should a company do when it's in trouble? Well if you're BlackBerry apparently it's launch a premium smartphone for the high rollers - introducing the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9982.

While it's got an all-new name and the Porsche Design branding splashed across its front, the P'9982 is actually a humble BlackBerry Z10 in a swanky Italian leather and stainless steel suit.

The only hardware difference is the P'9982 comes with a sizeable 64GB of internal storage, trumping the paltry 16GB found in the Z10.

That means you get the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 4.2-inch 720p display, 8MP camera and the latest BlackBerry 10.2 OS - the P'9982 is certainly going for style over substance, then.

What you do get is an official certificate of authentication in the box, plus an exclusive BlackBerry pin which starts "2AA" to let everyone know you're part of this elite club.

In terms of on-screen goodies the P'9982 comes with a grey wallpaper (yes, plain grey), a special Porsche Design ringtone and a dedicated area in App World.

n terms of price, this smartly dressed Z10 is going to set you back a fair bit, although the exact price hasn't been announced.

TechRadar has been told that it'll sport a similar price tag to the previous Porsche Design smartphone - the P'9981 - which retailed at around $2400/AU$2500.

Update: BlackBerry has told TechRadar "information on pricing for the P'9982 will be announced through Porsche Design and other retail partners. The suggested retail price for the P'9982 smartphone is $2350 (around AU$2500)."

Meanwhile the Z10 can be yours for just $280 (around AU$340).

At that price you'd think that the P'9982 would be a limited edition phone, but BlackBerry has said it'll sell as many as it can - so if you really want one you won't need to know "someone on the inside."

If you're sold then you'll be able to nab the Porsche Design P'9982 from November 21 in selected retailers around the world - with Harrods in the UK getting the handset exclusively from that date.

BlackBerry refuses to give up as Z50 and Q30 tipped for 2014

What's next for BlackBerry?

It may not be looking particularly rosy over at BlackBerry at the moment, but if the latest reports are true the company is still ploughing ahead with new handsets.

Word from Chinese site Ctech is that the Canadian firm is working on a new flagship handset, dubbed the BlackBerry Z50, which apparently sports a sizable 5.2-inch display.

That's bigger than the recently launched 5-inch BlackBerry Z30 which received a relatively tepid response from the market, but with the Z50 potentially sporting a quad-core processor and full HD display it could make BlackBerry's proposition all the more enticing.

It's not all good news though, as the BlackBerry Z50 release date is tipped for the third quarter of 2014 - that's quite some time to wait for a smartphone which apparently sports 2013 specs.

There is another handset in the mix though, and the QWERTY keyboard toting BlackBerry Q30 is tipped to land early 2014, although details are relatively thin on the ground.

If the Q30 is indeed on the cards you can expect it to replace the BlackBerry Q10, which currently sits above the Q5 in the BlackBerry 10 QWERTY keyboard totem pole.

Additional sources have spoken to Pocket-Lint, who also claim BlackBerry is lining up new products for March and May 2014, so watch this space - even if the firm is on the rocks.

Via Mobile Syrup