The smartphone market is about to officially bid goodbye to one of its former heavyweights as BlackBerry prepares to release its last-ever device.
That’s the news from CES 2017, where the company’s CEO has confirmed that the upcoming ‘Mercury’ device is likely to be the last smartphone designed and built in-house by BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry Mercury was officially shown off publicly for the first time in Las Vegas this week, and should be officially launched later this year.
The news came from BlackBerry CEO John Chen, who confirmed the move at a CES press event with media.
Chen said that the Mercury would be, “The last model we engineered and designed ourself, yes that will be the last one.”
The company revealed last September that it would be leaving the smartphone business for good following a period of slow decline in market share.
It would now look to work with partner companies to build and distribute BlackBerry-branded devices across the world.
He noted, ”What you’re going to see over time is more phones. There’s going to be more BlackBerry phones out there because now I have multiple parties creating and distributing and I have local party to compete in the local space — countries which I normally can’t compete with.”
Chinese firm TCL has already confirmed it has plans to release several ‘BlackBerry’ smartphones later this year, and is also working with the company on the Mercury.
STEVE CISTULLI – TWITTER
The BlackBerry Mercury should go on sale later this year
The device was first leaked in video clips earlier this week, showing a radical new redesign that blends a classic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard alongside a 4.2in touchscreen.
The device itself looks to take after the likes of Apple’s iPhone, sporting a polished and rounded metal build complete with rounded metal buttons.
In a change from previous BlackBerry devices, the Mercury has relocated the front speaker to the top of the device, rather than the bottom, alongside a front-facing camera.
There’s also a fingerprint sensor built into the keyboard’s space bar, allowing users to unlock the device quickly.
STEVE CISTULLI – TWITTER
The BlackBerry Mercury features a touchscreen and physical keyboard
Rumours late last year suggested that the new device will feature an octa-core Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, a 4.5-inch Full HD display, 3,200mAh battery powered by USB-C, and an 18-megapixel main camera.
This would put the new device firmly in the mid-range Android smartphone category, as BlackBerry looks to strengthen its position in developing Eastern markets.
However the Mercury will run Android Nougat 7.0, making it the first BlackBerry handset to do so, and meaning it’ll come with many of Google’s latest software upgrades (although not the super-intelligent Google Assistant).
The device will also come pre-loaded with a load of BlackBerry’s own specialised apps and services, including old favourites such as BlackBerry Messenger and BlackBerry Hub.
There will also be a DTEK app to give your device extra safety and security, allowing for separate work and home profiles to ensure you never put your information at risk.
[Source:-Express]
