Announced at MWC 2017, the BlackBerry KEYone smartphone is finally available in the US at Amazon and Best Buy for $549.99 The device was earlier teased during CES 2017, though was made official at MWC this year in Barcelona. TCL, who now has the official rights to sell BlackBerry-branded handsets struck a brad-licensing deal with BlackBerry in December 2016. And the first BlackBerry-branded device announced by TCL happens to be the KEYone smartphone, a handset that features the classic QWERTY keypad.
“This is an extremely exciting and humbling moment as we introduce a new BlackBerry smartphone to customers here in the U.S. with the launch of our BlackBerry KEYone,” said Steve Cistulli, President, and General Manager for TCL Communication, North America.
TCL-owned BlackBerry is offering two unlocked variants of its KEYone smartphone in the US. One of them is a GSM model for networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, the other one is optimized for CDMA networks like Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular.
BlackBerry KEYone: Specs and Features
The main highlight of the smartphone is the physical QWERTY keyboard, bringing back one of the most iconic features we’ve seen in past BlackBerry phones. It’s also worth noting that the phone’s keyboard can be used for more than just typing. The spacebar on the physical keyboard also doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. Also, individual alphabets can be assigned as shortcuts to open apps.
Not to forget, the smartphones comes with the DTEK app, which offers an added layer of security on the phone. According to BlackBerry, the KEYone is the “perfect device, with no compromises”.
The front of the smartphone packs a 4.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1620×1080 pixels and a pixel density of 433 ppi. Under the hood, the BlackBerry KEYone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor bundled with 3GB of RAM. The phone comes with 32GB of built-in storage which is further expandable up to 2TB via microSD slot.
As far as cameras go, the handset features a 12MP primary camera with 4K video recording. On the front, along there’s an 8MP shooter for taking selfies. Juicing up the smartphone is a 3505mAh non-removable battery. The device runs Android 7.1 out-of-the-box and features Quick Charge 3.0.
Connectivity options on the phone include a single SIM, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, and 4G. The handset also packs a slew of sensors such as Compass, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, and Gyroscope. In terms of dimensions, the BlackBerry KEYone weighs 180 grams and measures 149.30 x 72.50 x 9.40 (height x width x thickness).
It’s also worth noting that the phone’s keyboard can be used for more than just typing. The spacebar on the physical keyboard also doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. Also, individual alphabets can be assigned as shortcuts to open apps. Not to forget, the smartphones comes with the DTEK app, which offers an added layer of security on the phone. According to BlackBerry, the KEYone is the “perfect device, with no compromises”.
The BlackBerry KEYone was announced worldwide in April. TCL has also promised to announce more BlackBerry smartphones this year. For more information on how to buy the BlackBerry KEYone, click here.
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