Blackberry and AT&T have just announced that the two sides have once again joined forces to promote a resurgence of keyboard enabled smartphones.
The BlackBerry Passport will be available in the near future for $0 down on an AT&T Next plan at $21.67 per month with AT&T Next 24,3 $27.09 with AT&T Next 183 or $32.50 per month with AT&T Next 12.3 You can also get the smartphone for $199.99 with a two-year agreement or at no annual commitment for $649.99.
Blackberry CEO John Chen also announced that the Passport model AT&T is getting being redesigned. “AT&T wanted rounded corners. Some of us are more square. No other reason than that.”
Both of these devices have launched with the Amazon App Store as an avenue to download and install apps. This was a bold move by Blackberry, no pun intended, to throw down with Amazon and forgo World as the primary avenue. Keep in mind, Amazon doesn’t have a ton of app support. In some cases, the apps you really want, aren’t available. Basically, if an app competes against one of Amazons core businesses its not welcome. In these cases, check out our own Good e-Reader App Store.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.