In an unusual collaboration, Porsche has teamed up with Research in Motion (RIM) to design a new BlackBerry smartphone, the Porsche Design P'9981.
The new handset marks Porsche's first foray into smartphones and is described as “instantly identifiable as a Porsche Design product”.
The Porsche Design P'9981 has a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted qwerty keyboard and touch-screen display.
Apart from the cosmetic changes, the internals offer nothing out of the ordinary. Powered by a 1.2GHz processor, the high-end phone has 24-bit high-resolution graphics, advanced sensors for augmented reality applications, and HD video recording. It also has 8GB on-board memory.
Unveiled yesterday in Dubai, the handset has received some mixed responses, being called “hideously gaudy” by some commentators. TechCrunch's Chris Velazco also calls it “the ugliest BlackBerry I've seen in years”.
The handset runs the BlackBerry 7 OS, but also has a customised Porsche Design UI with custom fonts and icons. For those users wanting to ensure their contacts know their BBMs originate from a Porsche Design BlackBerry, it includes premium “exclusive” PINs that identify P'9981 users.
Timeless style?
Senior VP for industrial design at RIM Todd Wood adds that the Porsche Design P'9981 is a “truly modern luxury smartphone, where the timeless style of Porsche Design meets the unmatched mobile experience provided by BlackBerry”.
The Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone will be available only from Porsche Design stores later this year, with a hefty estimated price of $2 000.
RIM has had a difficult year, as its share of the smartphone market has been steadily chipped away by the likes of Apple and Android. The company is also being sued for the name of its new BBX mobile operating system, while it still tries to recover from a crippling three-day service outage.
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