5 reasons why the BlackBerry Priv is the comeback king
The BlackBerry Priv will soon be in our hands but I already want one. And you should too. It's an expensive handset – around US$700 – and although it might seem destined to be a niche success, here are five reasons why the BlackBerry Priv is going to be a comeback king. And why you're going to want one.
1. Physical keyboard
The BlackBerry Priv comes with a physical, slide-out keyboard. It's old-school, and it looks great. Touchscreen keyboards are fine and all, but sometimes I want to feel the buttons click when I press them.
Not only will the BlackBerry Priv satisfy this craving, but this physical keyboard is touch-enabled, meaning it can be used to scroll through pages and apps. Just swipe a thumb across it, as if it were a touchscreen, to navigate.
2. Curved QHD screen
The BlackBerry Priv has a 5.4-inch QHD display. This just below phablet size, meaning it should provide a solid viewing experience while remaining pocket-friendly and easy to operate.
But there is more to the BlackBerry Priv display than just that. This is a dual-screen display. Like the Galaxy S6 Edge+, the edge of the screen houses additionally functionality such as providing quick access to apps, or displaying the battery meter, for example.
3. Software
The BlackBerry Priv is said to be a secure and safe device, but this isn't the only reason to get excited. BlackBerry has tweaked the stock Android interface to add some of its own interesting features.
BlackBerry Hub is going to put all of your messages in one inbox, while widgets are going to be more discreet, and look as though they will be hidden until you wish to see them. Check out some of the features in the video below.
4. Big battery
The BlackBerry Priv will arrive with 3,410 mAh battery. This is big battery on a device that's thinner than the Galaxy Note 5. Samsung's phablet has a 3,000 mAh battery and even that has good battery life, despite running a heavily modified version of the Android software.
The BlackBerry Priv software looks far closer to stock Android, and BlackBerry suggests that the Priv will last for around 22.5 hours with “mixed use”. We’d expect to get two days on a single charge (after all, you won't be using your device continuously for that time).
5. Expandable storage
I’m not saying you should buy a US$700 phone because it has expandable storage. I’m just saying that this looks like an extremely powerful phone, and internal storage that can be expanded will make it even more appealing.
These types of devices are becoming less and less common – if you want a device with a Snapdragon 808 processor, QHD display, 3 GB of RAM, a good battery and a strong camera, other than the LG G4, your options are quite limited – so the BlackBerry Priv fills something of a gap in the market.
Are you interested in the BlackBerry Priv? Let us know in the comments.
I hope they do well with this device. It'd be great to see Blackberry finding success again!
CAN TELEPHONE MAKE MY DINNER I DONT WANT CALL WRONG NUMBER
As a senior citizen who was a huge Blackberry fan, recently I notice that I'm making a lot more spelling mistakes with the touch keyboard on my Nexus 5(stock--NOT Rooted). I am really looking forward to a real keyboard again. Don't get me wrong...I really like my Nexus 5, but for what I use my device for all the added features of any Smartphone are wasted on me. Maybe Google and Android and Blackberry can come out with a device that is marketed to Seniors, with Large fonts, and eliminating a lot of the pre-installed apps that most seniors will never use. My mother is almost 93 years old...and she just got her first Smartphone....(finally got rid of that old Flip phone)...and she only uses it for phone calls and to look at pictures people send to her She will not read or send email on her new Android Smartphone, because that's what her laptop is for. And what else does she use her laptop for....to play bridge againsgt the computer.....so she doesn't need a smartphone with all the bells and whistles. So I plant the seed for Google and Android and Blackberry to think about a new seniors device.....and maybe this time next year there will be a device for us OLD FARTS! Just an Idea....
They already have you covered with "workwide" on the BlackBerry Passport. Large physical (and touch enabled) keys, wide display. Unless you're really big on App hording, it's a great device because of its design.
I agree with Jeffrey, I want this blackberry because of the physical keyboard. I also dumped phone apps that were no use to me, when I could.
can I trade in with old Q10?
I always welcome competition, it will only be better for us customers, and the phone seems to be fantastic! BB FTW!
I really hope this does it for BB. I love their keyboards and I loved their old phones.
Blackberry with a physical keyboard? Hummm, I'm pretty sure I will pass on that. Not rootable, yet another skinned device, don't care about the expandable storage, a simple usb/micro sided 128G storage drive sits on my key ring. My N6 lasts all day, so no issue there. To each his own of course!
This is a phone you can hang on to for the next 4 years without the constant need to chnage I.e. if you're not a phone junkie. Its a solidly built Canadian monster and I think the added features warranty the pricing. It is in many ways the perfect phone because it has everything a phone should have without making any compromises. It is just perfect!
Am I the only one who thinks this phone will struggle? Not because of the quality but because of the price. $700??? The high end phablet market is getting cheaper and cheaper and blackberry lost its consumer stature to compete with Apple or Samsung (which also is struggling) in their price market. Should've been $550, maybe $600 at the most. They are competing with lg, nexus, moto, sony, htc, op2, etc... Am I crazy for thinking that?
I think it will do well, but if it doesn't, the price will be why.. However, the price can change. It's probably the best problem to have on a phone for that reason, especially if it's the only problem (as it seems to be thus far).
This is BlackBerry's breakthrough device!
Wow... an Android OS Blackberry phone? Blackberry Priv? It's finally coming... YES!!! I was a loyal Blackberry user for many years up to Blackberry Touch till switch to Note 2. Skipped Note 3, now with Note 4. Still misses the blackberry email features. Perhaps, this is the one to come back to. All the best to Blackberry.
This blackberry Priv has the most secure software of any phone ever. I cannot understand why people don't pay attention to this. On top of that the memory can be expandable to 2T (that's 2000 GB!!!!!) The only issue that blackberry had, was the lack of apps. Well this is solved now with the android platform. I have been a blackberry user before and this phones are elegant, very functional, and never ever had a problem with it crushing or getting. Bug. . I can't wait to get my hands on the PRIV
Umm, no! Blackberry 10, the Blackberry in house software, is more secure!
In the article you mentioned expandable memory phones are becoming less common. Don't forget that the Moto x Style (Pure) just came out and it has expandable storage.
I'm ok I'm still wounded from blackberry I forsee so many issues with the phone and the "tweaked software"
Please provide some examples.
Blackberry hardware is rock solid, as is the Priv. With Priv you get the best of all worlds, full screen with on screen keyboard, slide up screen and you get the luscious physical keyboard for power texting or emails, the operating system is solid Google Android Lollipop, but there are is a skinned on Blackberry HUB communications, anything else Blackberry is anything you can get in the Play Store such as Blackberry Messenger. The battery life is going to be two days, for real. I was on a Nexus 4 after leaving BB at OS7, but never, even enjoyed screen based keyboard. BB Passport got me back with its amazing keyboard! You can use the keyboard on Passport and Priv to actually scroll pages up, down, left, right without touching the screen itself. This is the future of BB, that being Android powered BB hardware. So if you loved BB phones for their solid feel and durability, and loved physical keyboards, jump on this phone!