Unihertz announces Titan rugged qwerty smartphone for BlackBerry fans

BlackBerry is mostly known for its full qwerty hardware keyboard business-oriented smartphones that were very trendy in the late 2000s. Meanwhile, the iPhones and Galaxy S full display models have taken over the market and BlackBerry was forced to sell its smartphone business to TCL, who currently has a few qwerty models in its portfolio, but these have limited availability in only a few regions. Luckily for BlackBerry fans, there are other companies that have not forgotten the qwerty design. Unihertz from China, for example, is planning to launch a qwerty model that resembles the BlackBerry Passport with added rugged features.

Unihertz named its BlackBerry clone Titan, as it comes with military grade IP67 dust and water resistance, plus it features a solid shockproof frame. Besides these protection features, the Unihertz Titan integrates updated features that are standard on full display handhelds nowadays. These include dual-SIM support, fingerprint sensor (most likely not in-display), face recognition security, wireless charging, NFC and 4G LTE compatibility, plus a push-to-talk Walkie Talkie function.

Staying true to the BlackBerry design, the IPS LCD display retains the 1:1 aspect ratio and offers a 4.5-inch diagonal with 1,400 x 1,400 resolution. There are no concrete details about the SoC, memory / storage configurations or camera sensors, but the official renders reveal that the Titan will come equipped with a selfie cam, as well as a single rear camera. Another impressive spec is the 6,000 mAh battery that should provide extended battery life in extreme conditions.

The Titan is supposed to enter a crowdfunding stage very soon and it is now possible to reserve the device for US$199 with a US$15 deposit that is refundable in case reservation is cancelled before the Kickstarter campaign.