Elegance packed with power

Article continues below There has been a fair share of luxury phones on the market, but with design and appearance given far more importance than form or function, they can safely be filed away under the "pretty but dumb" category. However, recently, we've seen a few high-end smartphones crop up that boast powerful internals.The BlackBerry Porsche Design, also affectionately known as the P9981, is one such device which brings the power and performance of a BlackBerry with the design and elegance of a Porsche. Despite maintaining the same form factor as most other BlackBerry devices — screen and keyboard of the front — the P9981 is a considerable shift in design by the Canadian manufacturer.The internals are identical to the Bold 9900 and feature a 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM, BlackBerry OS7, GPS, NFC, a 5-megapixel camera and a gorgeous 2.8 touch-enabled screen that has a resolution of 640x480. As a result, in terms of performance and battery life, the P9981 is identical to the Bold 9900 as well.But what is not like the Bold 9900 is the design. To say the P9981 is an eye-catcher would be an understatement. The device is built around a stainless-steel frame with the front featuring a tan/earthy gold colouring. The keys are more defined and edgy, which makes the typing experience different from that on the Bold 9900, but it doesn't take long to get used to. The back is all real leather, which in addition to giving a strong grip, adds to the luxury feel of the phone.There is a sense of luxury and premium baked into every element of the offering — right from a special design box to multiple charging plug connectors (for your international travels), from premium Porsche Design headphones to your membership card featuring an exclusive BlackBerry PIN beginning with 2AA. In fact, the box includes a charge and sync dock, the back of which is also covered with the same leatherThe box does not come with the magnetic holster which we may have come to expect, but that may be because this design is by all means a tabletop phone. This isn't a device you buy for the internals or the specifications but rather for the prestige of owning one. If bought, it isn't a device you would want to hide.Priced at more than Dh7,000, the BlackBerry Porsche Design isn't a cheap phone. Then again, it isn't meant to be one