BlackBerry is about to release its Passport smartphone soon and the company has now started to allow customers to register their interest in the device.

It's worth pointing out that pre-registering your interest for the BlackBerry Passport does not imply any commitment. It will not reserve a device once it's ready to ship, nor will it pre-order it. Pre-registering does not require any payment, it's merely a formality so you can receive more information about the smartphone's availability.

BlackBerry has yet to offer a specific launch date for its new Passport handset, and the company has not provided full spec details for the smartphone either. We do know, however, that the BlackBerry Passport sports a square-shaped 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels, which translates to an impressive pixel density of 453 pixels per inch (ppi).

The upcoming BlackBerry Passport will launch as the very first device to rock the company's latest BB 10.3 operating system (OS), which is expected to boast compatibility with Android apps. Moreover, the new OS version will also bring another neat treat to the table: BlackBerry Assistant, the company's answer to Apple's Siri, Google Now, and Microsoft's Cortana.

The smartphone will be available in black and white color options and will sport a stainless steel frame to make it look and feel more premium. Based on previous rumors, the BlackBerry Passport will pack a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset under the hood, paired with a hefty 3GB of RAM. A large 3,450 mAh battery will reportedly keep things up and running, offering "more than a full day of battery life to keep up with your busy schedule," according to BlackBerry.

It remains to be seen, however, if the upcoming BlackBerry Passport will be able to turn things around for the ailing company. BlackBerry has lost significant ground to rivals in recent years, and its smartphone share has dramatically dropped. The company has been struggling for quite some time to keep its head above the water, but saw increasingly more customers shifting to iOS, Android, or Windows Phone.

The BlackBerry Passport is the company's latest effort to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive smartphone market, and is now up for pre-registration on the company's global website. The whole pre-registration process is quite simple and straightforward - all you need to do is enter your name, email address, and country, and you will receive updates via email as soon as BlackBerry is ready to offer more information regarding the availability of its new Passport smartphone.