Last September, we’ve showcased BlackBerry’s latest smartphone, describing it as the device which could put the struggling Canadian company back on the map. And while the Passport didn’t pose much of a threat to the iPhone’s supremacy, its sales were good enough to justify the creation of a more exclusive series featuring luxurious materials such as red and yellow gold, as well as platinum.
The device hasn’t seen any modifications regarding its technical specifications, meaning it comes with the same quad-core 2.2GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization. Its most striking feature is its three-line QWERTY keyboard, which takes you back a few years but doesn’t impede the phone’s usability in any way. It’s simply a different philosophy, and BlackBerry somehow managed to make it work in 2014. The other distinguishing trait is the Passport’s square design (as opposed to the rectangular shape of most modern smartphone). Again, it seems to be a question of taste, but the wider screen does seem to make reading and editing documents a bit easier, something the targeted demographic of “power” professionals could certainly find useful.
With the success of “pure” luxury devices like those we’ve seen from Vertu, Gresso or Savelli, it’s no surprise BlackBerry decided to get in on the action with a series of gold and platinum releases. With prices ranging from just under $1,900 to about $2,020, the exclusive new Passport smartphones are about three times more expensive than the standard version – and worthy competitors to most things we’ve seen from the more established luxury brands.
