BlackBerry CEO John Chen pitches new Classic phone to loyal users

The phone that many loyal BlackBerry users wanted all along is coming, and the company’s boss wrote a letter to them today about it.

“It’s tempting in a rapidly changing, rapidly growing mobile market to change for the sake of change – to mimic what’s trendy and match the industry-standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people,” said Chen of the device, which will launch in December.

The BlackBerry Classic is rumoured to have a physical keyboard and trackpad, a 3.46-inch display with a 720 x 720 resolution, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus chip, 16GB of built-in storage, 2GB of RAM, and a a microSD card slot good for a 128GB boost.

“We are committed to earning your business – or earning it back, if that’s the case,” wrote Chen. “In the weeks ahead, BlackBerry will be sharing more details about Classic that we think you’ll like. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit BlackBerry.com/Classic to see for yourself why BlackBerry Classic is aptly named.”

Chen addressed those who may have not adopted the company’s new operating system because of their love for the functionality and feel of the older ones.

“Sure, we’ve got new BlackBerry devices that break the mold, including the BlackBerry Passport. But we also recognize that a lot of you continue to hang on to your Bold devices because they get the job done, day in and day out – just like you. We get it, and we’ve got you covered.”

BlackBerry’s nascent comeback has some thinking the company has turned the corner after losing massive market share since the release of the iPhone.