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Gloria in Detroit, MI listens on CKLW and asked: “I had a Blackberry once, I learned to use it and I used it very well. And I loved it. It and I were just made for each other. Then my stupid phone company no longer supported it and made me go to the touchscreen. I hate it. I want rid of it. I want to go back to Blackberry. I don’t know who to ask or how to figure out how to do it. Can you tell me if it’s even possible for me to get a Blackberry. I really despise the touchscreen phone.”
Blackberry smartphones are disappearing faster than pizza slices at a Colorado smoke shop. You just can’t find them any more.
Now having said that, if you already have one, you might still be able to get it connected with your wireless provider. The technologies used for the radios haven’t really changed. Of course, you won’t be able to get software updates, since Blackberrys aren’t supported any longer, and that means you’re going to have problems going forward.
Blackberry currently makes the Priv, which is an Android phone with a sliding keyboard, and quite frankly it’s the most modern phone out there with such an option. All the other phones with keyboards on them are ANCIENT and simply not worth having.
You can buy the phone direct from Blackberry for $699 or you can buy it through the wireless carriers with their normal finance deals. According to Blackberry’s website, the Priv is available through AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, with Sprint coming soon. Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Newegg.com are also supposed to have it.
If you don’t want to buy a Priv, your only option for a physical keyboard is one of the bulky, clunky keyboard cases that will fit the phone you have. There’s none of them we can really recommend. They all work to varying degrees of success, but there are issues with each one we’ve ever tried.
Blackberry still sells the Blackberry Classic and Passport.
We should mention that Blackberry still sells the Blackberry Classic and Passport. They’re both closer to what you’re used to than modern phones are. You can buy them at the carriers that still support them or at Blackberry.com, but keep in mind the operating system they run is slowly being abandoned even by Blackberry itself, so don’t expect much. It should give you roughly the experience you had with your old phone, though, so it may be just what you want.