BlackBerry 9720 launches with BB7 and a 2.8-inch touchscreen

BlackBerry has announced the arrival of its newest handset – BlackBerry 9720. The phone will run on the BlackBerry 7 OS and has a dedicated BBM button that will take you straight to the application.

Despite the fact that the Canadian company has released a few handsets that run its newest operating system BlackBerry 10, it has chosen to have the BlackBerry 9720 running its older platform that is by far one of the most popular OS versions. The phone will run an updated version of the OS, version 7.1, which features an upgraded interface that will allow you to swipe to unlock and access the camera from the locked screen.

The handset will run BB7

The phone comes with a 2.8-inch touchscreen at a 480 x 360 resolution with 214 ppi as well as a trackpad. It will feature a QWERTY keyboard as well as a dedicated shortcut key to access BlackBerry Messenger a lot faster. You will be able to access BBM Voice using the handset. BlackBerry has promised access to the latest version of BBM, featureing BBM channels “soon” for download on BlackBerry World for owners of the new handset.

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BlackBerry 9720 will come with 512MB of internal storage and you can expand its memory up to 32GB with a microSD card. The phone will feature a 1450 mAH removable battery that the company claims is good for seven hours of talktime and 18 days of standby. As far as the camera goes, BlackBerry 9720 comes with a modest 5MP back camera but not a front-facing one.

The handset is all set to hit select markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America in the coming weeks. While there is no word on pricing just yet, going by the specifications, BlackBerry 9720 could cater to the lower range of the price spectrum.