The BlackBerry Mercury smartphone is set to be revealed next month.
The company has revealed that it is set to officially launch the device, made in partnership with Chinese firm TCL, at an event on February 25th.
This means we’re just weeks away from seeing exactly what BlackBerry has in store for its final swansong.
The launch was revealed in a tweet from a BlackBerry Mobile account, which teased something, “Distinctly Different”.
The unveiling is scheduled for the day before the start of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.
There had been a gap in the pre-MWC schedule this year after Samsung decided now to reveal its latest flagship at the show, as has been the case in previous years, after the company opted to delay the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8.
BlackBerry gave some media a first look at the Mercury back at CES 2017 earlier this month, but didn’t reveal many details on the actual device.
This included not revealing any information on price, availability, or even the hardware specifications of the BlackBerry Mercury.
The new BlackBerry phone is the third in a trilogy of new releases, following the previous DTEK50 and DTEK60 devices, all made in partnership with TCL.
The device will sport a radical new redesign that looks to take inspiration from other leading flagship devices.
The BlackBerry Mercury will come for a new metallic build around a 4.2in touchscreen, meaning it is smaller than most iPhone or leading Android devices.
However in classic BlackBerry fashion, the device will also sport a physical QWERTY keyboard, allowing you to type out messages and emails.
The keyboard will also let users touch-scroll across the keys to interact with icons on the display.
This also means you can swipe along the keyboard to scroll through web pages or emails, saving time from constantly switching between the two inputs.
There’s also a fingerprint sensor built into the keyboard’s space bar, allowing users to unlock the device quickly.
The physical buttons on the side of the Mercury have also had an Apple-esque makeover, with a smooth, rounded finish that should make it easier to select volume, take a photo or just turn the device off.
As for hardware, however, the BlackBerry Mercury looks set to be firmly in the mid-range sector, far behind the flagships of the mobile world.
Rumours have suggested that the device will feature an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3GB of RAM, 3,200mAh battery powered by USB-C, and an 18-megapixel main camera.
However the device is expected to run Android 7.0 Nougat, giving it powerful software combined with BlackBerry’s own specialised security and productivity tools.
The BlackBerry Mercury will mark the end of an era for the company,
The news was confirmed by BlackBerry CEO John Chen earlier this month, who said that the device “will be the last one” engineered and designed by BlackBerry.
The company revealed last September that it would be leaving the smartphone business for good following a period of slow decline in market share.
BlackBerry will now look to work with partner companies such as TCL to build and distribute BlackBerry-branded devices across the world.
[Source:-Express]
