Remember BlackBerry phones? Those iconic biscuit-shaped smartphones of the early 2010s with hard plastic buttons placed below simple, low-res touchscreens have inspired the look of a new product from Clicks Technology.
Rather than releasing a new smartphone to compete with the likes of the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy lineup, the Clicks Communicator is designed to be a device that works alongside the smartphone you already own. It’ll be on display at CES 2026 next week.
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With the tagline, «doing, not doomscrolling,» Clicks envisions the Communicator as a kind of back-to-basics smart device focused on communication and work. It says the device essentially pares down all of the distractions that come with today’s large-screen, social media-centric smartphones. Many people have already started carrying a second phone for privacy or to set boundaries, the company said.
The retro-styled Communicator, priced at $499, links up to your main phone so you can get emails and texts on it. To be clear, you still need a separate smartphone for this device to work.
Jeff Gadway, the company’s chief marketing officer, describes the Communicator’s relationship to your smartphone to what a Kindle is to an iPad. «It’s a complementary product that stands on its own, optimized for a specific purpose,» Gadway said in the Friday announcement.
The keyboard is «touch-sensitive,» so users can scroll through messages without using the screen, and the device supports voice recordings. Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a switch for airplane mode, expandable micoSD storage, and a physical SIM tray as well as eSIM compatibility. It has a 50-megapixel main camera and a 24-megapixel front camera.
The Communicator, which has Android 16 installed, is 131.5mm tall and weighs 170 grams.
At launch, the Communicator comes in three muted colors, including onyx. You can also switch out the back of the device for different colors. You can pay a reservation deposit of $199 starting today. Or if you just want to buy one before it comes out at an unspecified date «later this year,» the company is offering a $299 early bird price, which is $100 off the launch price.
Clicks’ Power Keyboard
In addition to the Communicator, Clicks also on Friday announced a keyboard for smartphones that attaches to your regular phone via MagSafe or Qi2 magnetic connection and looks like the bottom half of a BlackBerry, with those same old-school buttons, instead of haptics simulating touch.
The Power Keyboard has a slider that allows it to be attached to smartphones of different sizes, and you can use the keyboard with a smartphone placed either vertically or horizontally above it. The Power Keyboard is also available for preorder today at $79. Availability is expected «in the spring,» the company said.
It can also be paired with a tablet or smart TV as well as AR and VR environments, the company said.
«Power Keyboard brings a consistent, confident typing experience to all your smart devices, in a compact keyboard you can take anywhere in your pocket,» Kevin Michaluk, president of Clicks, said in a statement.
