RIM launches Blackberry Porsche in Dubai

CANADIAN MOBILE FIRM Research in Motion (RIM) has ushered in solemn style and reserve with the launch of a Porsche designed Blackberry handset in Dubai.

The smartphone is called the P'9981 and delivers "engineered luxury and performance", according to the firms.

It's not that much different than other available Blackberry smartphones, except it has had some tweaks. Buyers will get a forged stainless steel frame, a hand-wrapped leather back cover, a sculpted Qwerty keyboard, a crystal clear touchscreen display and around a £2,000 hole in their bank accounts.

Other features include the ability to identify other P'9981 smartphone users, presumably so you can compare watches or cars with each other.

"Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark," said Dr Juergen Gessler, CEO of Porsche Design Group.

"The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment."

The Porsche Design P'9981 has a 1.2GHz processor, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, and advanced sensors enabling augmented reality applications. It comes with 8GB of on-board memory, expandable up to 40GB with a microSD card. µ