The BlackBerry Keyone made by TCL was unveiled during the MWC 2017 although the device was spotted during CES in Las Vegas. After about 5 months of its release, BlackBerry announced the special edition Black coloured Keyone in India for a price tag of Rs. 39,990.
The variant that will be sold in India will come with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage as against 3GB-32GB in the international variant.
Specifications:
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| BlackBerry Keyone limited Black edition |
The variant that will be sold in India will come with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage as against 3GB-32GB in the international variant.
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| International variant |
Specifications:
- 4.5 inch 3:2 aspect ratio 1620 × 1080 display (IPS LCD) with scratch resistant glass
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SOC clocked at 2.0gHz and adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB RAM and 64GB storage expandable upto 2TB via sdcard
- 12 MP rear camera with 1.55 micron pixel size and Sony IMX378 sensor capable of 4K video recording at 30FPS. It has Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and EIS.
- 8MP fixed focus front facing camera with f2.2 aperture and 1.125 micron pixel size and 84 degree field of view
- Front camera capable of 1080p recording at 30FPS.
- 3505mAh battery with support for Qualcomm quick charge 3.0
- Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 ghz band support
- NFC, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- USB type-C port and 3.1 version
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Hall sensor
- Qwerty keyboard with fingerprint sensor embedded in the space bar
- 9.4mm thick and weighs 180g
The device is not like any other Android phone as it comes with a 4.5 inch touch display with physical keys. This is the second attempt from BlackBerry after Priv that had a sliding body to access the qwerty keypad. However, the device was a let down due to its physical issues and unfinished software. Now, the Keyone was praised internationally especially with regards to its battery life as it comes with 14nm based Snapdragon 625 SOC.
Like the original BlackBerry devices launched some years ago, the physical qwerty keys have the same functionality. Some features include touch navigation where one can make gestures on the keypad which will be reflected on the screen, flick typing for predictive words and assigning shortcuts to each button.
Speaking of the software, the device will come with Android nougat 7.1 out of the box with BlackBerry's own secure software and preloaded apps. It comes with BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry workspaces and various other BB specific apps along with some Google apps.
The device will be available via Amazon India starting August 8th. The "Business" oriented device which also focusses on your device's content security will fetch you a hefty price tag of Rs. 39,990.
Do let us know regarding your thoughts on this device. The Keyone competes with OnePlus 5 and LG G6 based on pricing.
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