While other smartphone manufacturers move on from Qwerty keyboards and stick with the on-screen feature, BlackBerry is going back to its roots. 

In an interview with Recode, Blackberry CEO John Chen said the company's upcoming handsets would focus on the Qwerty keyboard. Blackberry is going back to where it started -  when it commanded the phone market as business executives took comfort in typing on a physical keyboard. 

“You are going to see us centre more and more on the Qwerty keyboard,” Chen told Recode at CES 2014. He wants BlackBerry to reclaim its name in business - a market Apple, Samsung and other manufacturers have begun to take a hold on, as support for business applications and security has grown. 

In December, BlackBerry and Foxconn signed a five-year deal to create a new smartphone, though it's not clear if the Qwerty smartphones mentioned by Chen will be manufactured by the long-time Apple supplier. 

"Partnering with Foxconn allows BlackBerry to focus on what we do best - iconic design, world-class security, software development and enterprise mobility management - while simultaneously addressing fast-growing markets leveraging Foxconn's scale and efficiency that will allow us to compete more effectively," Chen said in December. 

Chen didn't say on Wednesday when the Qwerty handsets would be released.