The Passport is BlackBerry’s oddest looking smartphone yet

Turns out BlackBerry’s stronger-than-expected financial performance wasn’t the only surprise the company had for us today. CEO John Chen took a few moments during this morning’s earnings call to mention its newest phone: it’s called the BlackBerry Passport and it’s… bizarre. BlackBerry teased the existence of a new device with a square, high-resolution screen before, but the Passport’s design isn’t exactly what we were expecting. Unlike other BlackBerrys with squared-off displays, the folks in Waterloo didn’t feel the need to craft a more traditional chassis. Nope, the Passport seems to bask in its angular tendencies, and that 4.5-inch display is clearly the star of the show.

John Chen announced during BlackBerry’s quarterly earnings report that the company’s next phone will be called Passport. Previously known as ‘Windermere‘, the often-leaked QWERTY device will sport a 4.5-inch 1440×1440 pixel display and what we believe to be a touch-sensitive keyboard panel for easier autocorrection. It’s interesting that BlackBerry is dropping the “Q” lettering from its QWERTY lineup; this, along with the Classic coming in November, indicates a change from the company’s typical naming scheme and a rejection of the BlackBerry 10 naming legacy that has heretofore failed to catch on. Chen announced that the Passport will be announced at an event in London in September, but wouldn’t divulge any more information. He also noted that BBM for Windows Phone will launch in July.