BlackBerry launches Classic in India for Rs 31,990

Canadian firm BlackBerry today launched its latest smartphone 'Classic' in the Indian market, priced at Rs 31,990, a move aimed at regaining its position in the enterprise space.

BlackBerry has been aggressively launching devices -- Passport and Classic being recent examples -- as it looks to bring back customers, especially enterprises, which have moved to rivals like Android and iOS.

The device was launched globally last month.

"Customers told us that typing on a glass surface, especially when they are on the move, is not very accurate. This smartphone is specially built to meet the needs of productive people thriving on speed and accuracy that can be found with a physical QWERTY keyboard," BlackBerry India Managing Director Sunil Lalvani told reporters here.

Designed based on extensive customer feedback from customers, the BlackBerry Classic offers customers the power and performance of BlackBerry 10, with the DNA and familiarity of the "classic" keypad experience, he added.

"The Classic is designed to give users a distinct experience that every BlackBerry QWERTY loyalist and high- productivity business customer will love. This device brings together the best of BlackBerry features and the keyboard functionalities familiar to BlackBerry Bold and Curve users on a secure and productive platform," he said.

The device will be sold through eCommerce major Snapdeal and BlackBerry Exclusive Stores.

The BlackBerry Classic has a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, trackpad and navigation keys, BlackBerry's latest operating system -- BlackBerry 10 OS 10.3.1 -- and two app stores: BlackBerry World and Amazon's Android Appstore.

It has a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of device storage (expandable by up to 128GB), and a 2MP front, 8MP rear -facing camera with enhanced optics and upgraded imaging sensors.

BlackBerry said the new device features a browser which is three times faster, has 60 per cent more screen space and 50 per cent longer battery life.