UPDATE: Verizon says that the BlackBerry Classic will cost 24 monthly payments of $16.66 each on Verizon Edge.
If you’re a BlackBerry fan on Verizon that’s itching to get some new BlackBerry 10 hardware, your wait is nearly over.
Verizon will launch the Blackberry Classic online on February 26 and in stores on March 5. Pricing will be set at $99.99 with a two-year commitment after $50 mail-in rebate, and Verizon says that the Classic will also be available on a Verizon Edge installment plan.
In terms of specs, Verizon’s BlackBerry Classic is similar to the unlocked GSM model that’s been available for a few months now. That means that it’s got a 3.5-inch 720x720 touchscreen, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, BlackBerry OS 10.3.1, and a non-removable 2515mAh battery. Oh, and it’s got that 35-key backlit physical keyboard, optical trackpad, and tool belt that old-school BlackBerry’s are known for.
Verizon notes that its version of the Classic supports XLTE, its upgraded LTE network that offers faster peak data speeds than standard 4G. As you can see in the image above, Verizon has also decided to stick its branding on both the front and rear of the Classic.
Verizon launched both the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 in the first half of 2013 and then the BlackBerry Z30 in late 2013, but we haven’t seen any new BB10 hardware on Verizon since. Thankfully, that’s changing later this week, and I’m sure that there are quite a few Verizon customers that will be happy to see VZW’s BlackBerry drought coming to an end, especially with the Classic and its design that harkens back to the older BlackBerry Bold.
Have any of you used a BlackBerry Classic? If so, what are your impressions of BlackBerry’s newest smartphone?
