Contributed by Billy Zheng.
Blackberry just launched a brand new Android phone called the Blackberry KEYone at Mobile World Congress 2017. This is Blackberry’s fourth attempt at making a comeback with its manufacturing partner, TCL. Will this be the device that finally turns Blackberry a profit?
Touchscreen + full sized keyboard
Promising Features
The most promising feature of the KEYone so far is the camera. The KEYone’s sensor (Sony IMX378) was also used in the Google Pixel, which has garnered high praise for its excellent image quality (see samples here) and was called one of the best camera phones of 2017. While it remains to be seen if Blackberry’s camera software and choice of lenses produce comparable images, we expect great results with the KEYone’s camera.
Blackberry’s signature keyboard has also received a few upgrades since the days of the Blackeberry Bold. The full-sized QWERTY keyboard is touch-and-gesture-enabled, giving users the ability to interact with the device by swiping on the keyboard like a touchpad. The keyboard’s keys can also be programmed to quick launch apps, and incorporates “Flick Typing,” a gesture used for predictive texting – increasing the already blazing fast speed at which users can type. Plus, the spacebar is a fingerprint sensor!
Underwhelming internals?
Despite all the promising features, the KEYone sports pretty underwhelming internals for what Blackberry calls its first premium flagship device of 2017. The KEYone uses a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SOC, with 3GB of RAM – good specs for 2016, but middling as compared to the likes of the Snapdragon 835 and custom SOCs present in the upcoming flagships..
Not all is lost though – the Snapdragon 625 is actually a respectable performer and its octa-core, 64-bit processor clocked at 2.0GHz should be more than enough to satisfy most business users today. The processor is also battery efficient and has given phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 really impressive battery life in the past. Here’s to hoping that what the KEYone lacks in power, makes up in endurance.
Price and Availability?
The KEYone will be released globally in April and will be priced at $549 USD, which translates to around $772 SGD. Will it sell? Possibly – it depends on how well the phone performs, and if TCL does pricing and promotions well.
Blackberry & TCL’s distribution plans have always included Singapore in the past, and we should expect the phone to be available via the telcos shortly after the global release. We’ll be doing a short hands-on session when it comes to Singapore, so stay tuned to thirtyseventech.com for more information!
Image credit: Blackberry, Qualcomm
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