ITVoice News:BlackBerry is all set to come back with a bang in the spirited market of smartphones with its most popular QWERTY keyboards. In the upcoming launches of Passport and Classic, BlackBerry will re-launch the QWERTY keyboard which will become the devices’ USP.
Sameer Bhatia, director, distribution at BlackBerry India, said, “QWERTY has been one of our strong suits, keeping with the consumer trend and demand, we will continue to launch devices based on QWERTY. There remains a large portion of the user base that are loyal to the QWERTY experience.” BlackBerry Passport has a 11.43-cm (4.5-inch) square full HD screen with a touch enabled keyboard. Bhatia said more, “You will be able to navigate web pages, apps and e-mails by lightly brushing your fingers over the keys, which helps with things like scrolling and cursor placement.” The keyboard will also support custom commands.
The other one, Classic, will have the trackpad and function keys. This phone is expected to be sold at a much affordable price. Bhatia said more, “We believe that our devices need to stay in step with the times while ensuring to provide die-hard BlackBerry users with the comfort of a keypad as well.” But, unlike the common trend, BlackBerry has no plans to adopt an online only business model. As told by Bhatia, “We believe that both traditional retail formats outlets and online platforms are complementary strategies that brands need to harness to ensure complete consumer access and reach.”
Both the traditional and the latest trends should be followed which will ensure an OMNI channel presence. This pervasive presence will ensure more consumer reach through all possible segments. Bhatia concluded, “Recently with the launch of the new BlackBerry Z3 we partnered with both The Mobile Store and Flipkart to offer consumers an exciting pre-launch offer. The offer was very well received by the consumers, proving that both brick & mortar and online formats have become an integral part of a brand’s retail strategy.”
