Porsche Design BlackBerry Making October 27 Debut

Back in early September, right when we were still in the middle of the recent onslaught of BlackBerryOS 7 devices arriving, a decidedly odd-looking BlackBerry model surfaced in a few pics, supposedly the BlackBerry 9980. Just a few days later, some video of the handset arrived, along with word that it was going by the code name Knight and would feature Porsche branding. Now, notice has gone out from Porsche Design that it plans to unveil its latest efforts with RIM on October 27, and unless it has other models it's secretly been working on, we're almost certainly talking about the debut of the 9980.

When we showed you the 9980 last month, your opinions on the phone were mixed, though definitely leaning towards the negative. After all, the 9980 is a striking departure from RIM-designedBlackBerry models. Instead of smooth lines and soft, rounded features, the Porsche phone has an aggressive metallic facade and harsh angles. Those choices don't appear to resonate with many BlackBerry fans, but if you're looking for a unique phone that will get you noticed, this might be one smartphone worth considering.

We've seen the 9980 running BlackBerry OS 7, and it certainly seems like it should be based on 9900 hardware, but we've yet to get any confirmation of its specs. Hopefully, we'll get the full picture of the handset in a week's time.