The famous BlackBerry physical keyboard plus the breadth of apps on Android. Meet the BlackBerry PRIV.
Familiar Android icons.
The PRIV is not squarish like the Passport and is the dream of some Android users who love the BB keyboard but do not wish to side-load apps. There are clear benefits to using the PRIV’s slide out keyboard: (1) a tactile reassurance and comfort for typing out long emails, chats, and messages; (2) more screen space with the onscreen keyboard dismissed (you see more parts of a website or a chat thread); and (3) the keyboard doubles as a capacitive trackpad (move cursors more accurately, swipe up and down or left or right).
BlackBerry throws in usability features that aid productive use and security peace of mind.
- PRIV is for PRIVACY. DTEK by BlackBerry for Android tells you when your privacy may be at risk, so you can take action. With a glance, you can see the phone’s overall security rating, as well as other security features. Via DTEK, you can also monitor and control apps that access your mic, camera, location, and personal info. This is a security feature not normally found in Android phones, even the flagship ones.
- Two Keyboards to choose from. The PRIV offers the familiar BB typing experience via a slide out physical keyboard that’s also a capacitive track pad – you can use your thumb across touch-sensitive keys and finely control the cursor. Buttons can also be programmed to launch shortcuts. When you slide to hide the physical keyboard, the onscreen keyboard can be accessible.
- Massive 3410 mAh Battery. Despite the sleek and svelte body of the PRIV, it boasts of a power stamina good for about 22.5 hours of mixed use. You can use the display’s curved edge to see the battery charge status when the device is charging.
- Great Cameras. PRIV has an 18MP dual-flash Schneider-Kreuznach rear camera, with the usual settings to adjust exposure and try out filters. The front camera is See sample rear camera shots below.
- BlackBerry Hub lets you access your email, SMS, social media, calendar, an phone calls, all in one place.
- Drop-test ready Corning Gorilla Glass 4 – the PRIV is tough; 5.4-inch OLED display with rich colors, deep blacks, with less power consumption.
- Pre-loaded on PRIV, BlackBerry Pop-Up Widgets, allow you to view any app widget by just swiping up or down across the icon on your home screen. This is better than normal widgets that both eat up screen space and consume more power.
- The PRIV can take in up to 2TB of storage via microSD card.
Swiping up from the center capacitive key reveals three options.
Sample Rear Camera Shots:
Swiping from the right side of the display toward the center pulls out other options.
BlackBerry PRIV Full Specs:
5.4-inch curved QHD AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass 4, 2560×1440 resolution
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor, 3GB of RAM
32GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 2TB
18-megapixel rear camera, OIS, PDAF, 6-element f/2.2 lens, dual LED flash
2-megapixel fixed focus camera, f/2.8 lens, 1.75um pixel size
3G, LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, NFC
3410mAh battery
Android 5.1 Lollipop
SRP 45,000.00
The BlackBerry PRIV will be available by mid-December 2015 through BlackBerry’s exclusive partner, MemoXpress. You can find affiliated retailers here: memoxpress.theshop.ph.
BlackBerry Executives (left to right): Matt Stewart (Director, Communications, APAC), Nicolas Mastroianni (Director, Regional Channel Accounts), and Gautam Sha (Product Manager).
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