Let’s put Apple, Samsung and all their ilk aside for few moments: It really wasn’t that long ago that a homegrown Canadian company called BlackBerry (well, RIM at the time) basically ruled the mobile world. The outfit’s slow decline has been chronicled, opined upon for years, and yet, some of BlackBerry’s most ardent fans still clamor for the days when QWERTY keyboards and teensy trackpads were uber-efficient status symbols instead of the relics they are now.

Enter the BlackBerry Classic. The name says it all, really: It’s a paean to BlackBerry’s halcyon days, and it’s got a look plucked straight out of 2011, to boot. We took one for an extended spin to see how BlackBerry’s throwback formula holds up today, and (very long story short) it’s mostly the past mashed up with a touch of the modern. The bigger question, as usual, is whether or not it’s worth your time. I suspect you already know the answer, but read on for my full impressions.