Remembering a classic

It's 2007 and one of the most common things any business person has in their jacket pocket or bag is a BlackBerry.  It was the de-facto standard of phone and email on one device for that time and anyone who was anyone had one and would tell you, even today, that it was the only device they "ever had" that allowed them to type quickly and accurately.

Then in June of that same year and the Apple iPhone is released. Most business people thought it would be a flash in the pan but as we all know today, it wasn't and the iPhone along with various Android alternatives and the occasional Windows Phone now take their seats at what once was a fairly exclusive table.  Sorry Windows Mobile, Nokia Communicator, Palm etc. but you know its true.

Well if you are one of those BlackBerry addicts that I meet all the time who still wish they could go back to those good old days, you might be interested in the new BlackBerry Classic as the video below shows. 

It's a classic Curve/Bold styled BlackBerry, all be it bigger to support a larger battery, screen and with it a more plastic build quality compared to the original, but with all those little shortcuts you know and remember, along with some new tricks that might make it popular with those who wished they had a proper keyboard again.

Personally I have no idea how good this device was then or is now. I just remember at the time that I was one of those loyal Windows Mobile users who got email OK, but didn't really have a great phone experience and couldn't no matter how many devices I upgraded to could connect to their car kit, as Bluetooth just seemed to be a hit or miss myth. However, the fact that BlackBerry has released this device just shows there is some life in the old dog yet and that they believe there's a market in nostalgia.

Well, we'll just have to see how well it works out as today the variety of apps and services available is as important as how good the hardware is. BlackBerry 10 the operating system on this new device does bring "some" of those apps and modern services together such as Gmail and Office 365 based email as well as an Android style emulation feature.  However, I suspect regardless of all that, there will be plenty of people who over the last few years have just learned to accept an iPhone, Samsung or Microsoft Lumia phone who will love to try this out just for the keyboard memories alone.

For more information on the new BlackBerry Classic you can go to the BlackBerry website.