BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981

BLACKBERRY PORSCHE DESIGN P'9981 REVIEW

RIM has launched the Porsche Design P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry, a BlackBerry smartphone that has, unsurprisingly, been designed by Porsche. The Blackberry Porsche P’9981 is a gorgeous looking phone but perhaps not in the traditional sense. There is no doubt that a lot of work has gone into the design but it is not a design which you fall in love in. It’s more of a design which invokes intrigue and a desire to touch and find out more about. The Porsche brand is recognized worldwide for producing vehicles immersed in opulence and style and its marriage with the Canadian manufacturer, Blackberry delivers a device dipped in perfection and punched with performance. We are talking about BlackBerry Porsche P’9981. Constructed entirely from stainless steel and finished in leather, the device sports a detailed keyboard. The wide QWERTY keyboard which spreads across nearly 67mm width of the smartphone has been forged individually from metal and adds to the ease while messaging and texting. The navigation buttons are placed right under the 2.8-inch touchscreen. The device features a pinch-zoom in the browser however the compact size of the display gives it a clumsy feel at times. On the right side of the device we spot a volume rocker, mute button which doubles up as a play/pause button and a shortcut to camera which can be customized. The left is dominated by a 3.5mm jacket and a microUSB port with a lock button on the top. The sharp edges and squared-off corners and the use of metal adds to the premium look and style. This makes the device feel sturdy and bulky - in fact it felt heavier than its 155g in our hands. A built in NFC on the back cover comes handy in initiating transactions and establishing pairing with other NFC based devices or authentic BlackBerry accessories. Under the hood, BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 packs a enhanced single-core Qualcomm MSM8655 1.2GHz processor paired with 768MB RAM which ensures a faster and smoother web navigation coupled with the fluid animation and instant responses. The device runs on the BlackBerry OS 7, which was seen first in Bold 9900. We see the familiar set of elements and UI within the two smartphones, some may even see P’9981 as a Bold 9900 in a expensive skin. However there are some other differences too. There are some new set of icons and background options. Also the luxurious P’9981 includes a custom theme and houses features and innovative apps like Wikitude which engages you in a more dynamic way. The Wikitude World Browser app allows you to read reviews on restaurants, theatres and VIP events. If you must know there are over 150 million points of interest curated exclusively for P'9981 smartphone users. All this plus dual-band Wi-Fi and BlackBerry App World 3.1 makes discovering the newest apps, themes and games faster and easier than ever. The device also provides a Porsche Design branded 1,230 mAh battery along with a microSD card slot to expand the 8GB of internal memory. To swap the SIM cards, you will need to take the battery out - we would have preferred a side slot for ease and convenience. On the camera front, BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981 sports a 5-megapixel EDoF camera on the back with a 4X digital zoom and 720p HD video recording capabilities. There are also options for face detection,image stabilization, geo-tagging and scene modes. However the fixed-focus is a disappointment, as it limits the proximity for the macro shots. The pictures also lack the general vibrancy and crispness achieved via auto-focus cameras. The video recording on the other hand is smooth with accurate color rendition. The device also supports MPEG 4, H.263 and H.264 video formats. While P’9981 maybe Bold 9900 in a glamorous avatar, it's not for everybody. However in the same breathe we would add, if you are fishing for compliments, the BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981 makes for a mighty fine bait. The performance you demand. The power you need. Styled by Porsche Design, forged in stainless steel, finished in leather and powered by BlackBerry. The Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry is engineered luxury at its finest. Superior BlackBerry performance and elegant Porsche Design styling place the P'9981 smartphone in a class of its own.

SPECIFICATION & FEATURES