After leading to wide speculation that BlackBerry would mostly concentrate on software this year, thanks to a previous statement, the company pulled a major surprise during its press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona; it will be going back in time with an all-new slider smartphone later this year.

Looking a bit like the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, with a rounded screen on either side, the device held up by BlackBerry executive Ron Louks during the event doesn't have a name, but it will be available later this year.

It is an "all-touch display" phone, claims the company on its official Twitter account, but with a keyboard hidden to the rear. This slides down when needed. "What a Surprise! Ron just pulled out a dual-curved, all-touch display with a keyboard - yes a slider device," it tweeted.

No other details are known about the BlackBerry prototype yet, apart from the fact that it runs BlackBerry OS 10. But we have to applaud the manufacturer for pulling one of the biggest surprise acts of this year's trade show.

READ: BlackBerry going software only? Will make more apps for rival platforms

BlackBerry also announced another all-touch smartphone, the BlackBerry Leap, during its conference. It is aimed at young business types who value security but don't particular want a QWERTY handset.

READ: BlackBerry Leap is the 5-inch HD touchscreen smartphone you didn’t see coming