OTTAWA: BlackBerry, to keep its smartphone sales up, has launched a silver version of its flagship Passport handset, dubbed BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition. The smartphone is already available from company’s own Shop BlackBerry website at $549 (roughly Rs. 35,000) (unlocked). BlackBerry with each purchase would also be giving smartphone accessories such as Flex Shell, Flip Case and Sync Pod, worth $130 (roughly Rs. 8,300) for free. The device would be reaching European countries – UK, France, Germany Italy, Spain, and Netherlands – “in the coming weeks.”
What make the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition unique is its stainless steel frame, a diamond pattern rear panel, and a new silver colour. The metallic build also gives the Passport Silver Edition a premium look alongside longer durability. The company in the new Passport handset variant says it has also improved the keyboard for easy typing. Also, the corners have been slightly rounded as compared to its regular Black colour variant of the Passport. The bevelled edges around the front-facing camera and a protective border on the rear camera are meant to save the lenses from wear and tear.
Besides the new design, the innards of BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition remain the same as its regular version. The BlackBerry OS 10.3.2-based smartphone features a 4.5-inch (1440×1440 pixels) IPS LCD display, 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 810 processor with Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB of inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB), 13-megapixel rear OIS camera with BSI sensor, 2-megapixel front camera, and a 3450mAh battery. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB, USB OTG, NFC, GPS, 3G and 4G LTE.
In January, BlackBerry announced a Black and Gold Limited variant of the Passport. The variant came engraved with ‘Limited Edition’ and the production number.
