This New Android Smartphone Is For Everyone Who Misses the Blackberry

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Clicks, the company behind those physical keyboard cases for your smartphone, has announced a new device, but it'll look pretty familiar to anyone who's used a Blackberry before. It's called the Clicks Communicator, and it's a pocketable little handset that's perfect for anyone who misses having physical buttons on their phone. It comes with a full, old-school style QWERTY keyboard and runs Android 16, and while you can pump it full of apps and use it standalone, Clicks says it expects many of its customers will prefer to use it as a minimalistic companion to a primary smartphone. In that way, this device is designed to be your secondary smartphone, where you only load it with the apps you need at a moments notice and use it to quickly reply to your messages, emails, and other important notifications.

The Clicks Communicator is a modern Blackberry

Credit: Clicks

One of the headlining features of the Clicks Communicator is the Signal LED, which is a notification light around the side button. You can set it to light up with a different color based on who's pinged you or which apps are sending you notifications, so you can know what needs your attention first without having to scroll through a long series of notification boxes. For instance, you could set up a green LED for notifications from people you care about, and use other colors for different apps. I'm not entirely sure how this'll play out in practice, because I do worry that I'll forget which color is for what after a point. Fortunately, Clicks says you can also turn off the Signal LED if it's not useful for you (and yes, there will still be traditional notification boxes if you need them).

As for the core experience, in line with its design philosophy, the company has chosen not to show you an app grid when you go to the home screen. In collaboration with Niagara Launcher, Click has instead built a messaging hub, which shows you all your pending alerts on the home screen, grouped by app. You can use the keyboard to triage these messages or to reply to individual chats, the company says.

There's also a lot of emphasis on the keyboard, as is expected from a company that went viral by launching a physical keyboard case for touchscreen phones. Clicks says the keys on the Communicator are bigger and better than those on its keyboard case. There's a red Clicks key on the keypad, which you can use to launch custom shortcuts. The Spacebar has a built-in fingerprint sensor, which could be handy for unlocking the phone quickly. The keypad is touch-sensitive, which means that you can slide your fingers over it to scroll through messages. And before you ask, yes, it also has a 4.03-inch OLED touchscreen display for those of us who like scrolling on a smoother surface.

Some of you may also be pleased to know that the Clicks Communicator has a 3.5mm headphone jack and that it supports microSD cards for storage expansion. It ships with 256GB storage and you can add a microSD card with up to 2TB of capacity.

The device runs Android 16, supports Qi2 wireless charging, has a USB-C port, and has a 50-MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, alongside a 24-MP front camera. It's powered by a 4nm MediaTek chip that has 5G support. It's a dual-SIM phone with one physical SIM slot and an eSIM, so you could use it on its own instead of as the "complementary product" its pitched as, but taking calls or using certain apps could be tricky on such a small device.

If you want a Clicks Communicator, you can reserve one now for $399 + $30 for shipping and duties. The launch price is expected to be $499, which means that pre-orders get a $100 discount. The device also has swappable back covers, and the company is offering two back covers for free with pre-orders.

A Magsafe power bank with a sliding keyboard

Credit: Clicks

For everyone that just wants to add physical keys to their existing phone, Clicks has also launched a magnetic wireless power bank with a built-in sliding physical keyboard. This is one of the more quirky products I've seen from this year's pre-CES announcements, but it could make for a great middle ground for everyone who doesn't want the Communicator.

I wasn't a big fan of wired power banks back in the day, but the advent of magnetic wireless charging has changed that, and now I'm itching to slap one onto my iPhone. Throwing a slide-out Bluetooth keyboard into the mix just sweetens the pot, even if it is a bit of a heavy package overall, at 180g. And because of that wireless Bluetooth connection, you can also use the keyboard with your phone, tablet, TV, or gaming console, if you like. The charger doesn't need to be physically attached to a device for its keyboard to work with it, and the device as a whole works with both Apple and Android.

There is a downside, though. The Clicks Power Keyboard has a 2,150mAh battery, and it only supports 5W Qi wireless charging. That's a very slow charger by today's standards, but the good news is that your smartphone is less likely to overheat with those charging speeds. It's priced at $80 for pre-orders and is expected to start shipping this Spring.

For a comparison, you could get an Anker wireless power bank for around $55. This one weighs 4.3oz (120g), offers faster 15W charging, and has a higher battery capacity (5,000mAh). You don't get a physical keyboard with most power banks in the market, so Clicks is banking on that to power sales of its Power Keyboard.

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