BlackBerry P’9981 test

RIM have teamed up with Porsche Design Studios to create the BlackBerry P’9981, a mix of hard edges and precise angles unlike any other BlackBerry we’ve seen before.

 

The P’9981 enters the market as the elite BlackBerry, demanding an exclusive price tag for an exclusive device. We spent some exploring how the Porsche Design treatment changes a product like the P’9981.

The Dubai launch event late last year should give you an indication of whom the P’9981‘s target audience may be and off the bat, the price tag echoes the sentiment with exclusive retailers such as London’s world famous Harrods store, selling the ‘PorscheBerry’ for a staggering £1275 (or near enough $2000).

Once your heart has moved back into your chest however, the next question is; does this device truly justify its cost? The answer being that it’s a matter of perspective. Underneath the surface coating of Porsche Design, the P’9981 actually shares all of its internals with RIM’s current flagship, the Bold Touch 9900.

Despite the new skin, the P’9981 is your typical Bold Touch 9900 underneath

As such the underlying hardware provides a solid framework with which to build on. The P’9981 uses a 1.2GHz single-core processor, an Adreno 205 GPU and 768MB of RAM to power the latest iteration of RIM’s BlackBerry OS, version 7.0. There’s also a 5MP camera on the leather-clad back capable of 720p HD video recording.

We’ll move away from the hardware rundown as the Porsche Design influence doesn’t penetrate that deep into the device (sadly). Despite its roots in the Bold Touch 9900, put both devices side by side and any relation would be hard to spot.

The body is a work of matt aluminum with a polished edge tracing the sides of the phone. All of the buttons around the edge have naturally adopted a more angular feel, but they’re still in exactly the same place as the donor device that defines the P’9981′s layout. Aside from the same 2.8″ display seen on the 9900, the start and end call buttons, menu and back keys and the optical trackpad all fall perfectly flush with the display’s glass. The removable leather back panel surrounds the camera module and comes embossed with the BlackBerry ‘pips’ in its center. It’s worth noting, the back panel also doubles as the NFC antennae.

Using the device, the extra weight of that aluminum body is surprisingly unnoticeable. The backlit keyboard, despite having that distinctively aggressive styling, feels just as comfortable to type on as the standard Bold, which is an essential part of any BlackBerry’s requirements. The feel in the hand may not be as comfortable as with the 9900, but this phone isn’t marketing itself on its ergonomic merit.

Two seconds looking at the P’9981′s display and you’ll notice the styling differences. The Porsche Design team have kitted out the UI with custom fonts, icons, wallpapers and ringtones to help make their presence felt whilst navigating the device, once you open an app however, the Porsche influence runs dry. With all of the work that’s gone into making the unique typeface, it is a little disappointing that not even the native apps support these fonts once opened. Simple applications like the clock would have certainly benefited from a dash of Porsche Design.