The Blackberry Priv is now available in the United Kingdom via Carphone Warehouse or Vodafone. (Photo : Twitter)
Official photos of the first Android phone of BlackBerry set for release soon, the BlackBerry PRIV, show curved displays on the sides and a physical board hidden under the screen.
For easier typing, users would have to slide the keyboard downward, reports Android Headlines. The Canada-based phonemaker is known for including always a physical keyboard on its devices despite the popularity of just touchscreens on most smartphone models.
While the new phone would not have a fingerprint scanner, BlackBerry assured buyers the PRIV would still be secure because of BlackBerry exclusive technologies.
The PRIV would feature a 5.4-inch QHD screen, a Snapdragon 808 processor, 2GB of RAM and 18-megapixel main camera with OIS. It is speculated to be rolled out in November.
Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter in China, leaked the price of the PRIV in the Asian country as 3,000 yuan or equivalent to $630. But Android Headlines notes that the price is not confirmed and could vary by region.
Geeksnack notes that the release of the PRIV would be pivotal for BlackBerry because it could make or break the floundering tech firm. Prior to the PRIV, BlackBerry - under CEO John Chen - released the Passport which did relatively well as the first serious roll out but it failed to sell as many units as the company expected.
BlackBerry hopes it would be a different case for PRIV because the phone, which would feature a sliding QWERTY keyboard, would have Android as its OS instead of the BlackBerry OS. It would be BlackBerry's flagship device that Carphone Warehouse would likely be the first to sell.
