Porsche Design P9981 from BlackBerry Review and Specifications

Full Phone Specifications of BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981

Porsche-infused BlackBerry Design
Height : 4.53 in / 115 mm
Width : 2.64 in / 67 mm
Depth : 0.44 in / 11.3 mm
Weight : 5.47 oz / 155 g

GENERAL
2G Network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network : HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
SIM : Mini-SIM
Power and performance
Processor : MSM 8655, 1.2GHz

Memory when you need it

• Memory : 768MB RAM, 8 GB eMMC
• Expandable memory : Hot Swappable MicroSD HC up to 32 GB

Type and navigate with ease

• Capacitive touch screen
• Optical trackpad
• ESC key to the right of the trackpad
• Menu key to the left of the trackpad
• 35-key, backlit, wide QWERTY keyboard
• Dedicated keys: Send, End (Power), Menu, Escape, Camera (user customizable, convenience key), Volume Up/Down (Fwd/Rwd for media, Zoom for camera), Mute (Play/Pause for media), Lock (top center)

Capture important moments

• 5 MP camera
• HD video recording (720p)
• 4X digital zoom
• Flash
• Face detection and image stabilization
• Geo-tagging
• Scene modes

Fully charged

• 1230 mAh removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Talk time: up to 5.5 hours (GSM), up to 6.6 hours (UMTS®)
• Standby time: up to 8.9 days (GSM), up to 13.1 days (UMTS)
• Audio playback time: up to 48 hours
• Video playback time: up to 8.08 hours

The Porsche Design P'9981 from BlackBerry Review

When the first photos of the P'9981 emerged on the internet back on September 9th of 2011, nobody knew what to think of them. Overall the phone had the look of a BlackBerry, complete with a BlackBerry logo above the display. At the same time, the phone looked like no other BlackBerry on the market, and the word PROCEEDING inscribed into the top front of the casing seemed odd. Was this an unfinished hardware prototype of a next-generation QNX BlackBerry that was still running the old BlackBerry OS? Or maybe it was somebody's elaborate mod job to a 9900? We were all confused, to say the least.

It tookteam barely 24 hours to get to the bottom of it, and the next day we posted that the device was absolutely legit, was codenamed "BlackBerry Knight" and was actually a collaboration between Porsche Design and BlackBerry to create an exclusive BlackBerry offering. Less than two months later on October 27th, Research In Motion officially unveiled the Porsche Design P'9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry in Dubai.

Based on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 hardware platform and running on the BlackBerry 7 operating system, the phone would go to market with an incredibly long product name -- Porsche Design P Ninety Nine Eighty One Smartphone from BlackBerry -- to match the incredibly steep $2,000 price tag. The phone first became available overseas and is now available in North America. Don't call your carrier looking for the P'9981. It is only available from Porsche Design stores (see locations).

In late February both me and my better half (Miss CrackBerry) started using the P'9981, both moving over to it from the Bold 9900. I wasn't in a rush to get this review posted. With demand for the phone relatively low and with a price tag as high it is, I'd rather post my thoughts on it once I've really put it to use for a month, including a couple of weeks spent roaming on different carriers while traveling.