The BlackBerry Classic has finally been revealed to all as CEO John Chen took to the stage during an event hosted in New York on Wednesday. By the looks of the device, it seems that the Canadian company has remembered its roots and taken inspiration from its Bold line of smartphones.

According to CNET, Chen said "Everything you know about the BlackBerry (Bold) has been upgraded," during his time on stage at the event.

It's clear that BlackBerry makes it a point to retain its iconic keyboard on most of its devices, the BlackBerry Classic in that regard, is no exception. However, this time around the rows appear to be inline, as opposed to the slightly curved keys on the company's Bold 9900.

Taking from a review of the BlackBerry Classic by CNET's Nate Ralph, "The spacious four-row keyboard results in a smaller, cramped screen."

He goes on to say that if a user is willing to give up the perks of having a larger screen for a superior keyboard, then the BlackBerry Classic might just be the phone for them.

In regards to the price of the new smartphone, BlackBerry's website has it listed at $449. Unfortunately, the unlocked device will not make to the mailbox before Christmas, as it ships out on December 30, if purchased through BlackBerry.

Some of the major cellular service carriers have gone ahead and said that they will be supporting the device and making it available. However, they have not made mention when the device will be ready for purchase.

Some of the carriers include AT&T, Verizon, Bell Canada, Rogers, and Telus.

As it stands, many smartdevice users have grown accustomed to the touchscreen capabilities that most smartphones have these days. Therefore, some find it hard to believe that anyone would make the switch back to a keyboard based phone.

Nevertheless, that concept has not discouraged BlackBerry CEO John Chen as he said, "I invite a lot of people who haven't used BlackBerry before to have a try at it," adding, "I think you'll like it and be surprised by it."