BlackBerry launched the PRIV, its first Android smartphone, in November of 2015 through AT&T.
BlackBerry’s first move into the Android space shipped with some capable hardware in a unique form factor with a slide out keybaord. The PRIV runs Android 5.1 and boasts a 5.4-inch Gorilla Glass 4 display, an 18MP back shooter, a 3410 mAh battery, and 32GB storage expandable to 2TB with microSD.
After many months of leaks, BlackBerry has finally made the Android-powered “Venice” slider smartphone official. The phone is officially coming to market as the Priv (as was leaked yesterday), a suitable name considering its privacy and security focus, and it’s going to be available later this year…
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According to a couple reports out this morning, the long-rumored Android-powered “Venice” smartphone on the way from BlackBerry is going to be called the “Priv” when it actually launches…
.@evleaks Confirmed by N4BB: http://t.co/xhZ8PxEwXa
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 24, 2015
We’ve seen photos of the phone leak from multiple sources over the last month or two, and a couple of weeks ago a full gallery of shots surfaced showing the phone from all angles. We also recently saw a blurry cam picture taken by someone attending the Toronto Film Festival, showing the same Venice phone we’ve seen elsewhere, but with what looks to be case attached. Along the right side of the device in that image (and the others leaked in the full gallery), you can see two volume buttons aligned just like the ones of the Venice images that just surfaced last month.
If you want to see the phone in action, someone managed to post an entire hands-on video with the phone last week. Additionally, PhoneArena has revealed several specifications of the device, including a 1440 x 2560 QHD resolution display, 3 GB of RAM, an 18-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization, and a battery somewhere in the range of 3,000 mAh. The software is clearly Android Lollipop, and BlackBerry will probably include security-related features and pre-packaged apps.
As the leaks continue to get more and more common, we’re definitely nearing its official announcement…