Porsche-designed BlackBerry racy in looks and price

But you cannot get away from the fact that the P9982 is simply a BlackBerry Z10 phone at its core. Porsche has just come along and given it a facelift, and it is a fabulous facelift.

The new Porsche design P9982 Blackberry starts selling at Dh,8600. Charles Crowell for The National

If you drive a Porsche, or aspire to buy one but don't have the funds to do that, then the Porsche-designed P9982 BlackBerry would be a suitable phone for you.

In recent years, luxury brands have latched on to the sense of aspiration found primarily in consumer-driven societies to diversify their range of products and become a lifestyle brand.

If you cannot afford an actual Porsche, then the next best thing would be a coffee machine or jacket designed by the car maker. At least that is the theory behind the branding, and it is with this mindset that Porsche has partnered BlackBerry to design a smartphone.

This is the second collaboration between the two companies and the result is a sleek, professional-looking touchphone with a high-quality Italian leather coating that comes with a choice of three colours. With its aluminium body, it looks and feels sturdy, like a phone you could bash against a wall and it would still be fine.

While the final product looks great, as with all important things in life it is the inside that counts.

Besides extra internal storage, a different-looking clock and a little sign on your BlackBerry Messenger account to prove you have the P9982, the typing experience is phenomenal.

And it is the little touches that add the glamour. The device comes with a premium stereo headset, polishing cloth, USB cable for high-speed data transfer and an international charging kit.

But aside from all the glitz, when you are paying Dh8,600, you cannot get away from the fact that the P9982 is simply a BlackBerry Z10 phone, launched earlier this year, at its core. Porsche has just come along and given it a facelift.

But it is a fabulous facelift and there is no doubt in today’s image-driven society, looks matter. And this is certainly an item that champions image above all else.