The as soon as-highly regarded BlackBerry brand has been licensed nevertheless once more by a business hoping to use a acquainted identify to make a dent in the aggressive Android telephone market place. This time, it is a new Texas startup named OnwardMobility that is getting the reins, promising to release a 5G BlackBerry unit with Android and a actual physical QWERTY keyboard in 2021.
Little else is acknowledged about the product, which include screen dimension or internal specs, but OnwardMobility told The Register it would arrive with a entirely new keyboard layout that will “reflect the brand values from a keyboard typing expertise and enter knowledge.” Which, yeah, positive! I love to replicate model values. Do it all the time.
It would seem OnwardMobility will be angling the unit to company shoppers, emphasizing the phone’s ability to get function performed on the go (absolutely a lot less of a attract in a pandemic?) and its stability characteristics. This all makes perception, taking into consideration these had been the characteristics that captivated so a lot of prospects to BlackBerry units in the past.
It also appears to be the device will not be flagship standard, but possibly a wholesome midrange. As OnwardMobility CEO Peter Franklin explained to The Register: “Top of mind for us is not just producing the most safe and effective gadget, but also currently being an every day unit. That suggests factors like a best-notch camera, and the other specs you’d assume from your working day-to-working day cellular phone. At the same time, we know that we will have to be competitive, and so is our pricing.”
In fairness, “be invincible” is a fantastic strapline for an evidently unkillable model like BlackBerry.Image: OnwardMobility
It is truly worth remembering just how odd BlackBerry’s journey has been as a brand. BlackBerry devices had been monarchs of the cell earth in the late aughts, but then Android and iOS took off and sales took a nosedive.
There was a reboot of types from 2013 onward, when a number of devices operating BlackBerry 10 were being launched (like the fantastically square-shaped BlackBerry Passport). Then, in 2015, the firm ultimately switched to Android with the BlackBerry Priv and its slide-out keyboard. In 2016, it stopped generating its very own phones entirely and accredited the brand name to Chinese producer TCL. TCL will get rid of legal rights to that brand as of August 31st this calendar year, which seemingly cleared the way for OnwardMobility to transfer in. (A aspect take note: Indian telecoms business Optiemus Infracom has also built its have BlackBerry-branded Android equipment, but they are only obtainable in the Indian sector.)
That would make this possibly the fourth or fifth iteration of BlackBerry gadgets, dependent on how you like to count them. And connect with us silly, stupid, or just simple morbid, but we’re nonetheless really curious to see particularly what OnwardMobility will come up with.
The new cellular phone will be produced by FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of manufacturing giant Foxconn. It’ll be out there in North America and Europe “in the first half of 2021.”
