BlackBerry will stop making its Classic smartphone, 18 months after launching it in an effort to entice users who prefer physical, rather than touch, keyboards.

The Classic was launched early last year, with a physical keyboard in the vein of its Bold predecessor and powered by the company’s own overhauled BlackBerry 10 operating system. BlackBerry has since launched a phone powered by Alphabet Inc.’s Android software and plans several more, and BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen last month expressed confidence the company’s trimmed-down handset business can turn a profit by a self-imposed September deadline.(nypost.com)…[+]