BlackBerry KEYone Officially Launched
TCL’s subtle-looking BlackBerry KEYone, finally took the center stage and showcased Blackberry staples including the iconic QWERTY keyboard.
Previously called ‘Mercury’, BlackBerry KEYone looks to continue what the BlackBerry Priv left when it launched in 2015.
Design and Display
In a curved squarish layout, KEYone is made up of metal for the frame and, top and bottom portion. Covering mostly of the entire backing will be a rubbery material for a secured grip. Up front presents the Android navigational capacitive keys between the 4.5-inch display (in which we will get into a bit) and the backlit QWERTY keyboard.
QWERTY Keyboard
The iconic keyboard lets you assign different function for each keys along with the capability to swipe on the keys for nifty typing function. Interestingly, you have the fingerprint scanner embedded on the space bar key.
Combined with black, white and silver color finish, the KEYone veers away from the usual smartphones of today with a relatively thick size and reasonable weight to it.
As it continues its unusual design pattern, the 1080 x 1620 resolution is crammed in a 4.5-inch IPS LCD screen that translates to 433 of pixel goodness. The 3:2 aspect ratio makes it suitable when viewing business documents. Additionally, the Corning Gorilla Glass 4 serves as its first line of protection.
Specs
Now that’s done, we are off to the main specification of the KEYone.
A capable Snapdragon 625 coupled with 3GB of RAM runs under its hood, while some might say it’s not enough, expect it to run seamlessly with Android 7.1 Nougat. In other words, a near-stock Android experience with additional security(the main butter of BB phones) – so not only you get to experience the latest software but you can take advantage of the extra OS security built by BlackBerry together with DTEK applications.
Complimented by a 3505mAh battery, it’s expected to last your device for a whole day and recharge it with Quick Charge 3.0 feature.
For the camera, the main sensor uses a 12MP f/2.0 Sony IMX378 sensor with 1.55 μm pixels allowing for detailed images and better low-light processing. Video recording maxes out up to 4K resolution @ 30fps. For your selfies, you get to work with a decent 8MP sensor.
Storage-wise, you get to keep all of these in a 32GB internal storage but you can also use the microSD card slot for up to 2TB of extra storage.
The BlackBerry KEYone will start to spread globally on April with a price of $549 USD or Php27,500 Philippine peso(before taxes).
BlackBerry KEYone Official Color, Photos
BlackBerry KEYone Full Specs, Official PH Price, Release Date in the Philippines
| SPECS, PH Price | BlackBerry KEYone |
| Display | 4.5-inch 1620 x 1080p IPS LCD, 433ppi |
| Size | 9.4mm thick, 180g weight |
| Design | metal frame, rubber backing, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Colors | Black |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core Chipset |
| Processor | 8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| Graphics | Adreno 506 |
| Memory | 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, microSD card up to 2TB |
| Main Camera | 12MP f/20, 1.55 micron, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash, HDR |
| Multimedia | 4k @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30fps |
| Front camera | 8MP f/2.2 softlight flash, 1080p |
| Connectivity | GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | WCDMA: 850/900/2100MHz | 4G LTE, WiFi ac, 5GHz,Bt4.2, GPS, NFC, GLONASS, dual-nano IM |
| OS | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
| Software | w/ DTEK security suite, Full Disk Encryption, Android for work, google play for work |
| Battery | 3505mah with Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Ports | USB Type-C, 3.55mm headphone jack |
| Official Price | $549 USD or Php27,500 Philippine peso(before taxes) |
| Availability date | April-2017 |
| Where to buy | Online Stores(once available) |
