Monday, February 27, 2017

Blackberry shows off the KEYone at Mobile World Congress


Yesterday Blackberry Mobile made their new phone, the KEYone, official at Mobile World Congress. You may remember this phone from CES as the “Mercury,” the throwback-style keyboarded Blackberry that also runs Android.


The phone, with its entire specs list and feature set, was posted to Blackberry Mobile’s site hours ago, which was hours before the phone was actually announced. Because of that, well, we have all of the details for you now. 

The Blackberry KEYone looks like quite the premium device in terms of build quality, but TCL (the new maker of Blackberry Mobile phones) has gone somewhat mid-range on specs. On one hand, you have an aluminum body, with soft touch back and elegant design. On the other, you have a Snapdragon 625, 3GB RAM, and a 1080p display. By no means is this a low-end device, but it’s also not competing with the G6 or Galaxy S8 on paper.


As for the rest of the story, you’ve got Android 7.1 Nougat under a 4.5-inch FHD display, 32GB storage with microSD expansion, 3505mAh battery with quick charging, USB Type-C port, 12MP “Large Pixel” camera (same exact camera as is in the Google Pixel), and of course, that physical keyboard.

The keyboard’s keys can be programmed to quick launch apps, plus it acts as a touch pad, and incorporates “Flick Typing,” a gesture used for predictive texting. Hopefully, they’ll give you that Blackberry feel of old, too.

On a connectivity front, the phone will support AT&T and T-Mobile here in the US. It’s a GSM unlocked phone, so you won’t get that Verizon or Sprint connection unless TCL convinces those carriers to sell the phone.




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