Blackberry is preparing for a huge shift in its approach to smartphones by unveiling a smartphone running Android. The device called the Blackberry Priv is yet to be made available in the market but it has been making the rounds a lot lately. Right from the time it was a rumour in tech circles to when it started showing up in renders, real world photos and eventually some hands-on videos. BlackBerry CEO John Chen even showed off the device to reporters moments after the company confirmed its existence in its financial reports.
The Blackberry Priv will spot a 5.4 inch Quad HD (2560 x 1,440 pixels; 544 ppi) display, a Hexacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, 32 GB internal storage and 3 GB RAM coupled up with 18 megapixel main sensor; 5 megapixel sensor on the front. It will have a 3,410mAh battery and run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Blackberry has set a premium price for the device at $890 which puts it at level with other top high end devices including the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, iPhone 6S Plus.
BlackBerry takes great pride in its secure software that has for long made it a darling of the enterprise world and it will be seeking to marry this with Android to deliver a product that will appeal not just to old BlackBerry users but also the young that have so far been attracted to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android thanks to their modern look and feel and huge selection of applications.
