BlackBerry KEYone will be launching in the US and Canada on May 31. The Android-based smartphone, with the familiar QWERTY keyboard, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in late February.
Since the beginning of 2017, reports were speculating the release of the device by BlackBerry and TCL any time before March. However, now there is an official announcement as to when BlackBerry fans can expect the phone to hit retail stores.
An unlocked CDMA or GSM version of the device should cost $549. Discounts will be available with certain carriers, with one time payment or monthly subscription when it launches.
For those in Canada, the device will be available for purchase through Bell, Bell MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, and TELUS Business. The device will sell for $199 with a two-year contract.
The first TCL-manufactured phone, the KEYone has a 4.5-inch 1080p screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, and is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor paired with Adreno 506 GPU and 3GB of RAM.
The storage is of 32GB, expandable by up to 2TB via microSD card. It is backed by a 3,505mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0.
In terms of pictures, it will sport a 12MP camera (Sony IMX378 sensor) on the rear and 8MP sensor on front. KEYone runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box and also comes with BlackBerry’s own suite of security applications.
What makes the KEYone a stand out device in the already flooded smartphone market is the physical keyboard that BlackBerry handsets were once famous for. On KEYone, each key on the keyboard will be customizable too.
Besides the US and Canada, the KEYone is also expected to launch in other key markets soon.
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