They have been talking about it since August last year, but now the project seems to be in the home stretch: 5G, excellent cameras and physical keyboard.
BlackBerry is back in charge with a new high quality smartphone. For the big occasion, the choice has fallen on a top-of-the-line model equipped with a physical keyboard, a feature that in the past has characterized the design of the specimens that have made the Canadian manufacturer famous all over the world.
In recent years the fortunes of BlackBerry have been rather up and down. After having marked some great successes, also thanks to the first specimens of smartphones equipped with a full physical keyboard, with the emergence of increasingly powerful competitors, the fortunes of the Canadian company have gradually faded. Little use was made of the partnership with TCL, born from an agreement signed in 2016 for the production of the phones by the Chinese multinational under the name of BlackBerry Mobile. Ended on August 31, 2020, the collaboration did not bring the desired results, so much so that it even hinted at the will by BlackBerry to close its doors at least temporarily.
BlackBerry, the return with a top of the range
New year, new life. So has inaugurated the company in 2021, choosing the path represented by a smartphone with 5G connectivity, physical QWERTY keyboard and top-level cameras. Android should then be the characterizing operating system, a choice already made for the last phones of the brand in chronological order.
Not less important is the attention that will be given to data protection and hacker attacks, thanks especially to the leading role held by the company within the cyber security landscape. Although no other details about the technology segment have been released, according to Nikkei Asia's report, it will be produced by the joint effort of Texas-based startup OnwardMobility and FIH Mobile, a Foxconn subsidiary.
"OnwardMobility is hoping for better luck through its partnership with FIH Mobile," reads the Nikkei Asia document, "a company that produces Foxconn's Android phones. Together, they are developing the new model that will be sold under the BlackBerry brand, characterized by the exclusive keyboard, a top-of-the-line camera and 5G connectivity".
And it is just on the keyboard that Peter Franklin, CEO of Onward Mobility, expressed himself, considering it one of the most important factors of the new smartphone. The same, also emphasized the desire to bring in the United States the production of BlackBerry smartphones, including hardware dedicated to the camera.
BlackBerry, markets and release date
Although there are still no certain information on the launch date, the BlackBerry smartphone should arrive by the end of the year. The original announcement dates back to last August and, almost six months later, the time may already be ripe for the production phase.
The target markets should be those of North America and Europe, although at the moment we do not exclude the possibility of a debut on the Asian market.