Two phones, less distraction? This is the pitch of this BlackBerry lookalike

Clicks Communicator is designed to help you focus, not to replace your smartphone. It will be on display at CES 2026.

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Remember BlackBerry phones? These iconic cookie-shaped smart phones from the early 2010s with hard plastic buttons placed under simple, low-resolution touchscreens inspired the look of a new product from Clicks Technology.

Rather than launching a new smartphone to compete with models like the AppleiPhone And Samsung’s Galaxy rangethe Clicks Communicator is designed to be a device that works with the smartphone you already own. It will be on display at CES 2026 next week.

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With the tagline “do, not scroll,” Clicks envisions the Communicator as a kind of back-to-basics smart device, focused on communication and work. It says the device essentially reduces all the distractions that come with today’s large-screen, social media-centric smartphones. Many people have already started carrying a second phone for privacy reasons or to set boundaries, the company said.

The retro-style Communicator, priced at $499, connects to your main phone so you can receive emails and texts there. To be clear, you still need a separate smartphone for this device to work.

Jeff Gadway, the company’s chief marketing officer, describes the relationship between the Communicator and your smartphone as what a Kindle is to an iPad. “This is a standalone add-on product, optimized for a specific purpose,” Gadway said in Friday’s announcement.

The keyboard is “touchscreen,” which allows users to 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 microSD storage and a physical SIM tray as well as eSIM compatibility. It has a 50-megapixel main camera and a 24-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Communicator, which has Android 16 installed, is 131.5mm tall and weighs 170 grams.

At launch, the Communicator is available in three soft colors, including onyx. You can also change the back of the device to different colors. You can pay a $199 reservation deposit starting today. Or if you just want to pick one up before it releases on an unspecified date “later this year,” the company is offering an early bird price of $299, which is $100 less than the introductory price.

Clicks electric keyboard

In addition to the Communicator, Clicks also announced a keyboard for smartphones on Friday that connects to your regular phone via a magnetic MagSafe or Qi2 connection and looks like the bottom half of a BlackBerry, with those same old-fashioned buttons, instead of haptics simulating touch.

The Power Keyboard has a slider that allows it to attach to smartphones of different sizes, and you can use the keyboard with a smartphone placed vertically or horizontally above it. The Power Keyboard is also available for pre-order today for $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, secure typing experience to all your smart devices, in a compact keyboard you can carry anywhere in your pocket,” Kevin Michaluk, president of Clicks, said in a statement.