RIM Introduces Porsche Branded BlackBerry Smartphone

Granted RIM is going through a tough time financially and is having trouble convincing the share holders about its future in the mobile industry, but the company has given its best to roll out top notch BlackBerry handsets for which they are known world over. The secure email service is the reason why corporate executives prefer BlackBerry smartphones over other handsets. And now, RIM has targeted the high end segment again with the announcement of a new Porsche branded BlackBerry smartphone called the P’9981. The handset looks pretty cool with the body construction and the button placement being the highlights of the device.

Well, as you would expect from a limited edition handset, the Porsche P’9981 goes through a lot of processing to get to its final look. The whole body has a forged stainless steel frame which builds up for the look and the QWERTY keyboard on the handset is sculpted to look that much more elegant. Coming to the back portion of the P’9981, the handset has been given a classy look with the back made out of leather. Now that amounts for the looks of the phone. Let’s talk hardware and software. The P’9981 runs on the recently launched BlackBerry 7 OS with a custom Porsche Design UI to give you the feel of Porsche. The handset comes with 8GB of built in storage which can be easily expanded with the help of a microSD card (up to 32GB).  It functions on a 1.2 GHz single core processor, so don’t expect this handset to be laggy by any means. And like any new BlackBerry smartphone, the P’9981 comes with NFC, so it’s pretty future proofed. The handset as you would have guessed by now, will not go easy on your wallets with reports suggesting the estimated price to be north of $2000(Rs. 97,000). The company reports that the handset will be sold in Porsche Design stores starting from the end of 2011.

Todd Wood from RIM had the following to say about the handset – “This collaboration stems from a shared belief that form equals function. 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.”