Hearing the name ‘Blackberry‘ got you a little nostalgic? The iconic QWERTY-keyboard and Blackberry’s security features were hallmarks of the Blackberry lineup and they make a comeback with the Blackberry Priv. Although the device hasn’t been officially released, their Twitter account posted several images of what the device would look like although detailed information is still awaited.
It runs on Android!
Yup, who would have thought the day would come when Blackberry would ditch its home-grown OS in favor of Android! Blackberry worked with Google to enhance the security features and privacy options that come with Android Lollipop 5.1 to bring a Blackberry-like feel to their ecosystem while offering the traditional features that accompany a Blackberry device. This would be seen as a welcome move by most who switched over as the app support on the BB10 remained elusive for a long time.
It is fast!
The Blackberry Priv makes no compromises on the spec-sheet by carving it off a Snapdragon 808-Adreno 418 duo as its CPU and GPU, respectively. It’s also backed by 3 GB of RAM. This should ensure the Priv has enough horsepower for demanding use-cases.
The keyboard persists!
A Blackberry smartphone wouldn’t quite classify for the Blackberry tag without the prestigious QWERTY-keyboard and, on the Blackberry Priv, the keyboard materializes by sliding out from under the screen. Furthermore, the keyboard can now act as a pseudo-trackpad, a feature that should let the phone’s screen remain smudge-free and allow precision placement of the cursor while, say, writing an email. The feature definitely does make the phone worth looking into.
The feature-set!
If a slide-out QWERTY-keyboard wasn’t enough to lure you, how about the fact that the Priv also supports a micro SD card and a curved display– both rarities in the Android space today. Additionally, that screen is a 5.4-inch, qHD display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560. The phone has 32 GB of internal storage and the micro SD card can add up to 128 GB more.
What else and when can I get one?
Blacberry’s CEO John Chen gave the world a demo of the Blackberry Priv for the first time, albeit an awkward and lacklustre one; finally putting an end to the speculation around the device. And although the speculation for the phone itself has ended, rumours about the date of launch have started spreading and the phone should see the light of day, sometime around the first quarter of 2016.
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The Blackberry Priv is unquestionably the most exciting news from Blackberry in a long while and, arguably, the most exciting phone announced in 2015. We can’t wait to hear more about the Blackberry Priv and will continue to keep you updated.
How do you feel about its comeback?
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