BlackBerry may be pushing the QWERTY-equipped Classic pretty hard, but that doesn’t mean that the company is abandoning the full-touch form factor.
Images of what are said to be the BlackBerry Rio “Z20” have been leaked by N4BB. The design looks similar to the BlackBerry Z3 that launched back in April, but the Rio Z20 is said to have slightly higher-end specs. The Rio Z20 will reportedly be powered by a 5-inch 1280x720 display, 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and a 2800mAh battery.
The Rio Z20 is rumored to be arriving in February 2015 in black and white varieties. There’s no word yet on how much it might cost, but considering its mid-range specs, I’d be surprised if it cost more than a few hundred dollars without a commitment.
While the Classic is aimed a old-school BlackBerry fans that need a physical keyboard, the Rio Z20 looks to be targeted toward folks looking for an affordable handset that’s got some respectable features. If a release by February 2015 is indeed in the cards, we should hear more about the Rio Z20 in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.