BlackBerry's latest high-end hybrid smartphone, the BlackBerry Passport, will soon be available in SA.
The company says the device, which it hopes will challenge the industry's status quo with its one-to-one aspect ratio and touch-enabled keyboard, will be available in SA from authorised partners in early November.
Yudi Moodley, MD for Africa at BlackBerry, says SA is a country of early adopters of the latest smartphone trends. He is confident the "disruptive" Passport will be well received by local consumers.
Here are 10 of the phone's key features:
1. 4.5-inch square full HD screen and a pixel density of 453ppi.
2. Improved battery power - at 3450mAh, the BlackBerry Passport battery can last for up to 30 hours of mixed use.
3. The Passport's keyboard has a responsive touch surface that lets you perform many touch functions directly on the keyboard. You can scroll Web pages, flick to type or slide along the keys to move the cursor, leaving the full screen space for viewing.
4. The device is built using durable materials and has a Gorilla Glass display with 1 440 x 1 440 resolution, Quad Core 2.2GHz Processor, 3GB RAM, 13MP OIS rear camera and 32GB memory.
5. The Passport comes preloaded with the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system, which includes new features like BlackBerry Assistant, BlackBerry Blend and Amazon Appstore. It has a new look that incorporates updated icons and an action bar so that each user's most commonly accessed functions are in the centre of their screen.
6. BlackBerry Blend brings messaging and content that is on your BlackBerry Passport to your computer and tablet.
7. The BlackBerry Assistant is the company's first digital assistant and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal e-mail, contacts, calendar and other native BlackBerry 10 applications. BlackBerry Assistant determines how to respond to you based on how you interact with it - if you type, it responds silently; if you speak, it speaks back; and if you activate over Bluetooth, it speaks back with additional context because it assumes you might not have access to the screen.
8. The BlackBerry World storefront showcases essential apps for the BlackBerry Passport smartphone customer, including productivity apps like Bloomberg Professional.
9. Amazon Appstore: preloaded on the device, users can access popular consumer apps through the Amazon Appstore, including the latest Android games and apps, such as Groupon, Netflix, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft.
10. BlackBerry Natural Sound: the BlackBerry Passport comes with improved speakers and a quad microphone system that delivers a better listening experience. Natural Sound Technology is built in to adapt WiFi and cellular call sound, depending on the phone's position and background noise, adjusting volume automatically.
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