Agreed!!

Secondly it is also the idea of engaging the customers. Older BlackBerry users who do not enjoy the idea of physical keyboards actually left the platform. Those who stayed around actually do have, to a certain extent, lingering attachment to the functionality of a BlackBerry, and that includes even the trackpad, as "backwards" as it may seem.

The BlackBerry Passport is a compromise in this, as it has everything the classic has, sans the toolbelt. However, it is also different from the Q10 because the entire keypad itself is a humongous trackpad and also emulates the function of a BlackBerry virtual keyboard. Judging from the initial response i think BlackBerry customers are very happy with the new direction, and thus in the future there will be templates for three keyboards, the full physical + toolbelt, the full touchscreen and a hybrid (maybe with, maybe without toolbelt, most likely without)




In respect to the q20 it should probably keep the existing corporate customers from leaving BlackBerry (note, BlackBerry at this point can just go on as a pure MDM/EMM company without selling phones, but that is another story) and probably be tempting enough to have corporations to consider buying the BlackBerry Classic and deploy it to their employees as a COPE (corporate owned, personally enabled) device and slap in an MDM of their choice (BlackBerry has opened up their BlackBerry 10 phones to be manageable by other MDM services) but i would expect the Classic to surpass the sales of the Passport. I think its the shrewdest move BlackBerry has done so far.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-...ckberry-classic

DirectD selling AP Blackberry Classic RM1799.

For a phone with the same innards as Q10, the price is a bit too high for my liking.

It all boils down if you cannot live without the navigational strip and slightly smaller screen

Personally, I still find it a bit puzzling why BB still ignoring sliders. An upgraded Torch anyone?

Already up on sale ? I wonder when will it come to Telcos instead ?

Celcom....coming soon.
Check the webs

Price is on high side...

US retailing at $499, so it's not a cheap phone. :'(

Will have to wait a bit longer and see how it goes. Was really hopping to see the price on the lower RM1k side.

<rm1k... hmm... how I wish though but it is impossible for newly launch unless if there is Q30 coming out and Q20 will be <rm1k by then...

wait for the official launch + 3 months.

sure price drop like bag of rocks.

Anyone getting BB Classic now ??

It is USD449 for unlocked version, overpriced yeah. With the declining of the MYR against USD, I think BB Malaysia will price it at around 1.6-1.7k. Anything higher than 1.7k will only encourage the sale of Passport.

But then again, the phone looks cool in the unboxing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Djje12RkaQ

This post has been edited by popsoul: Dec 28 2014, 07:59 PM

Celcom is selling BlackBerry Classic at 1588. I think it's a fair price (y)

Can purchase outright?

Ya 1588 seems fair enough, although many see it as the same Q10 hardware with the additional toolbelt feature only.

IIRC the time Q10 launched, it was priced more than 2k. Isn't it?

Yup. Q10 starting price is around 2200++ I think. So the Classic which is a definite upgrade of Q10, selling just below 1600 is a good deal.preloaded with 10.3 some more..

RM 1,588.00 RRP is just nice... hehe... reasonable priced. Gonna get one to replaced my aging Bold 9790...

Anyone knows where to test this BB Classic?

By next month we should be able to test it at Celcom BlueCube.