Why did BlackBerry make a square phone?

BlackBerry previewed its square Passport device back in June and got a lot of flack for it. 

Critics like tech blog TechCrunch said it "made no sense whatsoever".

But the company is standing by its odd new gadget. 

In a statement posted on its website Tuesday, BlackBerry gave its reasons for going square: It's going to be much, much easier to read, as well as view documents. 

'The IMAX of productivity'

"Based on academic typology, the optimal number of characters on a line in a book is 66 characters (current rectangular smartphones show approx. 40 characters and BlackBerry will show 60 characters)," the statement reads.

"BlackBerry Passport offers its size and aspect ratio to accommodate these characters."

BlackBerry's upcoming Passport device, compared to other gadgets on the market. PHOTO: BlackBerry

The statement went on to say: "Consider how IMAX movies begin with the screens set to a more traditional 16:9 aspect ratio projection for conventional movie trailers, before expanding to their true dimensions (and the audience goes 'ooh')."

They call the Passport "the IMAX of productivity", since a user does not have to "sacrifice screen real estate, vertically or horizontally".

Are you sold? 

Source: BlackBerry, TechCrunch