The mystery of the device formerly known as the BlackBerry "Knight" 9980 has finally come to an end, as RIM and Porsche Design have come together in Dubai to officially take the wraps off of the luxury device. Dubbed the Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry, this device features a stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, and "premium, exclusive PINs" to help you easily find other P'9981 owners to talk about how fancy your smartphone is. As for specs, the P'9981 includes a 2.8-inch 640x480 touchscreen, 1.2GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, 720p video capture, 8GB storage, 768MB RAM, and BlackBerry 7 with an exclusive Porsche Design UI.

So how much can you expect to pay for a device whose press release contains the word "luxury" five times? Around $2,000, apparently. Those of you actually considering picking a P'9981 up had better hurry, though, as it'll only be produced in a limited amount. Meanwhile, the rest of us will have to be content with ogling it from afar thanks to the hands-on video below.

There's no question that the Porsche Design P'9981 looks like a pretty interesting handset, but the fact that it's said to be priced at a couple thousand dollars means that this post is likely the closest many of us will ever get to one. What do you all think of the P'9981? Are you a fan of the unique design or does it (along with the $2,000 price tag) turn you off from it?

Introducing the Porsche Design P'9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry

Engineered Luxury Meets High-Powered Performance

STUTTGART, GERMANY and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 27, 2011) -

Today, Porsche Design and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced the elite new Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry®. Designed by Porsche Design, in collaboration with RIM, the luxury brand's first smartphone delivers engineered luxury and performance.

The Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry is instantly identifiable as a Porsche Design product. The exclusive material choices for this unique smartphone include a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and crystal clear touch display. This customized Porsche Design P'9981 comes with an exclusive Porsche Design UI and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience. It also includes premium, exclusive PINs that help easily identify another P'9981 smartphone user.

"Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark," said Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO Porsche Design Group. "The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment."

"This collaboration stems from a shared belief that form equals function," said Todd Wood, SVP for Industrial Design, Research In Motion. "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."

Powerful hardware and software

The Porsche Design P'9981 is built on a performance driven platform that features a 1.2 GHz processor, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, and advanced sensors enabling new augmented reality applications. It comes with 8GB of on-board memory, expandable up to 40GB with a micro SD card.

BlackBerry® 7, the operating system for the new Porsche Design P'9981, includes a next generation BlackBerry® browser with a fast, fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. It also features Liquid Graphics™ technology, which delivers a highly responsive touch experience with incredibly fast and smooth graphics.

The Porsche Design P'9981 includes built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), which will enable many new and exciting capabilities.

The Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be available from Porsche Design stores later this year.

For more information please visit www.BlackBerry.com/ae/P9981smartphone or www.BlackBerry.com/sa/P9981smartphone

About Porsche Design

Porsche Design is a luxury brand with a special focus on products that are technically inspired. The brand Porsche Design was founded in 1972 by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The products are the embodiment of functionality, timelessness and purist design. They impress by the technical innovations they incorporate. The product portfolio includes watches, sunglasses, luggage, electronic products, a line of fragrances for men as well as a sport and fashion collection. All products of the brand are designed at the Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See, Austria, and are sold worldwide in the brand's own stores, in franchise stores, shop-in-shops, quality department stores and exclusive retailers.

Via Engadget, MobileSyrup, Tbreak