BlackBerry's QWERTY handset for BlackBerry 10 is official. Launched today, BB10 and its accompanying hardware do away with a lot of baggage that has been holding the company back, but the physical QWERTY keyboard is here to stay. This slim, lightweight phone with wonderful clicky keys is its future.
The Q10 sports a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, which is expandable with a microSD slot. The 3.1-inch super AMOLED touchscreen has a 330ppi, 720 x 720 display. And users who've felt left behind by the newfangled features of "modern" smartphones will be happy about the Q10's 8-megapixel rear camera, and the 2MP selfie-cam.
In a lot of ways, the handset is the familiar QWERTY BlackBerry we're used to with boosted—if not exactly industry-leading specs. But the company is really hoping that the spruced-up industrial design is going to distinguish this Blackberry from the ancient feeling handsets of yore. For example, the Q10 features a stainless-steel build, "edge-to-edge glass", and what BB calls a "three-dimensional weave" on the back. (Update: Here's our hands-on with the Q10.)
According to BlackBerry, the first carriers will launch the Q10 in April. Pricing is still TBA. [Blackberry]