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BlackBerry Priv Runs Android, Costs $699, Ships November 6

Oct 23, 2015, 9:50 AM by Eric M. Zeman

BlackBerry today made the Priv, its first Android smartphone, available for preorder. The device is a vertical slider that includes a touchscreen and a physical QWERTY keyboard. Like the BlackBerry Passport, the Priv's keyboard can be used to move the cursor around and scroll through web sites, emails, and documents. The Android operating system includes exclusive BlackBerry apps and DTEK for managing privacy. DTEK gives owners granular control over device permissions and what personal data is shared with third parties. The phone includes BlackBerry Hub for managing email, BBM, text messages, and other communications. The Priv has a 5.4-inch quad HD screen with curved edges. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 808 processor with two cores at 1.8GHz and four cores at 1.2GHz. The processor is accompanied by an Adreno 418 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. The camera has an 18-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.2, optical image stabilization, two-tone LED flash, and HDR, panorama, and burst modes. It can capture 4K video. The user-facing camera has a 2-megapixel camera with wide-angle selfie mode. The Priv packs an integrated 3,410mAh battery, which supports rapid charging and provides more than 22 hours of mixed user. Wireless radios include Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC, WiFi, and LTE (AT&T/T-Mobile). The phone costs $699 and will begin shipping Nov. 6.

Related

Review: BlackBerry Priv for AT&T

The Priv is the first BlackBerry to ship with Google's Android operating system rather than BlackBerry's own BBOS. BlackBerry opted for Android in order to expand the number of apps available to the phone, but it was sure to install its key messaging and security services to make the Priv more attractive to potential business users.

Hands On with the BlackBerry Priv

The Priv is BlackBerry's new flagship phone, but it's also much more than that. As the company's first phone to use Google's Android instead of a BlackBerry OS, it represents a major new strategic direction.

BlackBerry to Cease Monthly Updates for the Priv, Launch Trade-Up Program

Dec 15, 2017
BlackBerry said this week that it will no longer provide monthly system and security updates to its BlackBerry Priv smartphone. The company originally committed to providing updates for a period of two years.

BlackBerry Overhauls Productivity Tab for Android

Mar 30, 2017
BlackBerry today pushed out a brand new version of the Productivity Tab application for Android handsets, including the Priv, DTEK50, and DTEK60. BlackBerry says the Productivity Tab is now cleaner and more user friendly thanks to the addition of features such as Quick Triage for items in the Hub.

BlackBerry Expands Hub+ to More Android Phones

Sep 8, 2016
BlackBerry today made its BlackBerry Hub+ suite of enterprise applications available to a wider range of devices. At the same time, it added five more apps to the suite.

BlackBerry Priv (GSM)

5.4" display QHD+ resolution
Snapdragon 808 processor 3 GB RAM
3,410 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Hardware Text Keyboard, Headphone Jack (3.5mm), NFC, Wireless Charging

BlackBerry Priv (CDMA)

5.4" display QHD+ resolution
Snapdragon 808 processor 3 GB RAM
3,410 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Hardware Text Keyboard, Headphone Jack (3.5mm), NFC, Wireless Charging

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Comments

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Versed

Oct 24, 2015, 2:07 PM

Wondering?

I'm wondering if you have the option of using swype, or provided screen based kb instead of the regular slider kb?

gfondeur

Yes you can, you don't have to use the physical keyboard if you don't want

T Bone

Did you see those specs? This is equivalent to those high-end Android phones like the Galaxy Note 5 or the Galaxy S 6, this is not a $499 bargain basement phone.

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acdc1a

Oct 23, 2015, 11:52 AM

$700?

This phone is DOA. That's too bad because a $499 price point could have put Blackberry back on the map.

Pandemic187

Can you explain? The full price Verizon is charging for the Galaxy s6 edge and Galaxy s6 edge+ are $672 and $768, respectively. I'm looking at these phones because of the curved displays, obviously. So if we look at the display size alone, the price o...
(continues)

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Jarahawk

Oct 23, 2015, 8:06 PM

Interesting

Too bad they refused to integrate Android on the Playbook.

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