A BlackBerry running Android ?! Meet the Blackberry Priv.

A Blackberry running on Android 5.1.1 ? Yeah, count me in !!
Blackberry Priv is the device which is supposed to save the future of the company. The Blackberry Priv - The latest android by Blackberry tries very hard to show its magic. But will it succeed? Let's find out!

The Blackberry Priv has a mild touch of Android with the classic QWERTY keyboard. Of course, there are the Blackberry software features inbuilt, but it is an Android at the end. This device is priced at $699. Blackberry has declared that the company has to sell 5 million units a year - I mean it is definitely wildly optimistic. (You Go Blackberry!). If the company fails to do so, Blackberry will have no choice but to accept a future to provide software services to private companies and the government.

Let’s talk about the most interesting feature of the device – Its Keyboard.

As we slide up the display the four plastic rows are displayed elegantly below. It’s laid out in a classic Blackberry fashion, probably favoring the ones who used Blackberry Bold phones. The back of the phone is made of gripped “glass weave” material, which makes it easy to hold and type on the phone. Also, there is no collection of dust on the keyboard.

The software used for the keyboard is optimized especially for this device. Shortcut buttons like long-press keys for quick-launch shortcuts are enabled. The most beautiful thing about this keyboard is ‘touch-sensitivity’. Yes! We can scroll up/down or swipe left/right with hand movements on the keyboard itself.

The grippy back looks so sexy !

Along with the keyboard, Priv features great specs like:

• 5.4-inch curved AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (540 ppi)
• A huge 3410 mAh battery
• Snapdragon 808 chipset
• 3 GB of DDR3 RAM
• 32 GB internal memory expandable via an microSD card
• 18 MP primary camera with Optical Image Stabilization
• 2 MP front camera

The display is not too huge to look ridiculous for a phone with a keyboard. The body provided for the phone is pretty damn good.

The camera gives good photo shots. All thanks to the Schneider-Kreuznach lens. But, the shutter speed is slow. In HDR mode, the photos can take upto 4-5 seconds to save it. Also, the camera allows the user to shoot 4K videos at 30 fps. 

Tip : The space button on the keyboard can be used as the shutter button !

The speakers are placed at front and bottom. So the sound is pretty sweet! Along the right side are volume rockers. Also, there is a ‘mute’ button between the two volume control buttons. (Is it necessary though?)

The huge battery can give a day-long battery life with usage of social networking apps and taking calls. Blackberry has assured a minimum usage of 22.5 hours with heavy-usage. During charging, the screen shows up green light along the display to show the battery percentage.

The phone runs on Android Lollipop 5.1.1, which gives a smooth experience. The company has assured updates and bug-fixes, which they are working on right now.

The Blackberry HUB :

The Blackberry Hub provides you access to all the stuff coming at you daily, which includes Twitter, Facebook, texts, calls etc. It’s basically a super-messaging app which can be filtered according to the user. But, there is some error in GMail sync with it. The company is going to fix it soon.

DTEK :

The word ‘Priv’ stands for ‘privilege of privacy’. So naturally, Blackberry has focused on privacy of the user. The DTEK app is used to track day-to-day activities on the phone, scanning the security in the background. Blackberry has ensured greater security than most other storage securities. 

Final Verdict :

Blackberry has taken a step in Android marketing with a keyboard-device. If it succeeds, it’ll definitely be a start for different range of smartphones in the market. But if it fails, the company will have to re-route altogether. Let’s wait and watch, shall we?

Let me know what you think about the device.