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BlackBerry-style phone unveiled
Clicks Technology is preparing to launch the Clicks Communicator, a BlackBerry-inspired smartphone introduced at January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and aimed at people who do a lot of work on their phones, like texting and emailing.
“Priced at $499, the Communicator looks a lot like a modern-day BlackBerry”
TechCrunch says the Communicator is priced at $499 and is shown in a new hands-on video as a modern-day BlackBerry lookalike with a tactile, touch-sensitive keyboard below the screen.
The device is positioned as more than a “BlackBerry dupe,” with TechCrunch describing a “Signal Light” feature that can be customized with different colors and light patterns to indicate when messages arrive from certain people, groups, or apps.
TechCrunch also reports that the company partnered with the Niagara Launcher to provide access to the Android apps it runs, and that the company shows pre-production hardware and internal software as a preview of what’s to come when the phone begins shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Hardware and software details
TechCrunch lists the Communicator’s hardware as including a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a physical SIM card tray (in addition to an eSIM), and expandable microSD storage (up to 2TB).
The same TechCrunch hands-on description says the phone also includes a tactile switch for turning on or off airplane mode and customizable back covers that can be popped off and swapped.
Zamin.uz adds that the “Signal Light” function is located on the side of the device and uses various colors and light signals to identify messages from specific contacts or apps.
Zamin.uz further says the company introduced a minimalistic interface in partnership with Niagara Launcher to reduce distractions, while also noting that the developers are working on optimizing the actuation pressure of the keys for fast typing.
Timeline, audience, and context
Clicks Communicator’s roadmap described by Branchez-vous places first unveiling of internal software in May, presentation of the very first fully functional prototypes in June, and final production and deliveries beginning in the fourth quarter of the year.
“final production phase and deliveries will get underway in the fourth quarter of the year”
Branchez-vous says the company’s suggested retail price is $500 USD and that customers with an official reservation will receive their device before the end of the year.
Clubic frames the device as a response to the smartphone market’s “minimalist trend” and cites BlackBerry’s end of smartphone manufacturing in 2016 and the end of BlackBerry OS software support in January 2022 as part of the background for attempts to revive the physical keyboard.
Clubic also notes that the project is co-founded by Kevin Michaluk, Michael Fisher, Jeff Gadway, Adrian Li Mow Ching, and Joseph Hofer, and it describes Joseph Hofer as BlackBerry’s former industrial designer responsible for the iconic keyboards of the Bold 9000, Bold 9900, and Passport.
