Why every journalist will love BlackBerry Classic

What does a journalist need in a phone? I mean for work, of course. Well, great battery life is a given, but other than that, the journalist should be able to file stories at a blistering pace. For that, love it or hate it, a BlackBerry still reigns supreme. The hardware keyboard for many still allows one to write in a quick and error-free manner. The virtual keyboards found on modern Android and iPhones just don't offer that. That is why I feel the BlackBerry Classic is a phone that journalists will love.

For starters, it is the first proper QWERTY keyboard phone that has come out in the market after a long time. Yes, people will say that there was the Passport, the Q10 from BlackBerry and a couple of phones from Samsung, but these don't really qualify. None of these phones offer a superlative typing experience like the Classic without compromising on function.

The Passport has an odd keyboard size, the Q10 does not have the optical track pad and the hardware keys for BB shortcuts and the phones offered by Samsung just don't have a good keyboard.

The Classic comes without all these compromises. People who used a BlackBerry in its heyday would take to the phone like a duck takes to water. The transition from the touch screen to the hardware keyboard of the Classic is seamless. In fact, within a week, you'll be typing faster than your Android or iPhone, which comes with a wonky, though fast improving artificial intelligence based auto-correct.

A journalist simply can't type speedily with confidence on a touch screen. Even if he/she can type fast, the Classic will be, in my humble opinion, faster. The optical track pad makes editing text easier, and even if you are used to a touch screen, you can always revert to it on the Classic.

It is also better at email. The email experience is simpler than your modern Android/iPhone and it handles both Gmail, Exchange mail, Yahoo mail or event Outlook.com at great speed, faster than the iPhone.

The square screen is also great for typing copy as you are not scrolling a lot, but the text gets spread across the wider screen. Unless you are typing really long copy.

The Classic, unlike the plastic Samsung Galaxy phones or the frail iPhone is built like a tank. It is solid and heavy, weighing 177 grams, and has a frame made of steel. Suffice to say, it will be able to handle the odd tumble.

Lastly, the battery life is brilliant. Your average Android phone or iPhone will struggle to get through the day, but the Classic easily lasts a day on a single charge. Battery life is important for a journalist in the field who may or may not have access to power backup so it is good to know that the phone lasts through the day.

Of course, it is not a phone that will win geeks over, or even people from my community -- tech journalists (as most of us are also geeks). But for the average journalist, it is a darn good phone.

The biggest issue is the price: Rs 31,990, which, considering the old hardware and inferior software ecosystem, is outlandishly prohibitive. The price puts it out of the reach of the average reporter. However, if affordable, it will make for a great work phone. Many will not love it, but a journalist will definitely learn to love the Classic.

Disclaimer: The writer is an iPhone 6 user, contemplating the Classic as a secondary phone.