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.
BlackBerry got a fair bit of attention earlier this year with the reveal of the BlackBerry Keyone, but its first Android device — the Priv — didn’t garner nearly as much praise or attention. Now, two years after its release, the Priv is officially dead.
Whether you like BlackBerry’s Android devices or not, you have to give the company credit where it is due and that’s certainly in the software. BlackBerry’s near-stock take on Android Nougat is solid, and the company has a good track record of keeping the phone up to date on monthly patches.
Now, we’ve gotten confirmation that Oreo is coming to the Keyone, which is great, even if that comes along with the news another BlackBerry device won’t get the same treatment…
At the beginning of the month, reports described slow BlackBerry PRIV sales and high return rates. Despite this and a potential exit from the hardware business, VentureBeat has details on three new Android-powered devices in the works. These rumors are similar to ones from last year and involve a pair of touchscreen devices and one with a full keyboard.
Earlier this week news surfaced that AT&T sales of the BlackBerry Priv are worse than expected, and now T-Mobile has stopped selling the Android device on its site. The device is out-of-stock online, but those who are still interested may be able to find them in local carrier stores.
Blackberry announced its first Android powered smartphone late last year and the phone launched on AT&T shortly thereafter. Other carriers followed, and things looked bright for the Candian firm. There’s no doubt here that the Priv is a solid device, but with a high price tag and features that not everyone actually cares about, it was always going to be a tough sell.
The company estimated that it would push about 850,000 units in Q4 of 2015, but it only sold about 600,000 units in total in that time. It’s tough to say exactly why things fell below expectations, but one anonymous executive from AT&T had a little bit of insight on the topic (via CNET)…
We’re nearing the end of the first half of 2016, and that means a lot of new Android smartphones have been announced. Starting off the year was the Huawei Mate 8 and Honor 5X at CES in January, of course followed later by Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge as well as the LG G5 in February at Mobile World Congress. But which ones are the best buys? Keep reading to find out…
Months after its launch, the BlackBerry PRIV has finally seen its first decent price cut. While ShopBlackBerry — the manufacturer’s official online store — cut the price to $649 a few weeks ago, one trusted eBay seller is now offering the device for under $400.
In this week’s top Google stories: new Android device news surrounding the Galaxy Note 6, the death of the Nexus 9, Huawei’s upcoming P9 flagship, and more. And we went hands-on with LeEco’s new Snapdragon 820-powered Le Max2 w/ 6GB of RAM, the BlackBerry PRIV running Android Marshmallow, and the Oppo F1 Plus in this week’s top videos.
In addition, HP and Google launched the impressive new Chromebook 13, and a handful of notable Google and Android app updates arrived as well as news of a completely overhauled design for Instagram in testing.
Head below for all of the quick links to this weeks top stories, videos and more.
Yesterday, BlackBerry finally started pushing out the Android Marshmallow for the PRIV. And while it contains everything we already know about Marshmallow, BlackBerry added a few new useful and cool features of its own.
After a few weeks testing the software with a select group of beta participants, BlackBerry is finally rolling out the Android Marshmallow update for the PRIV from today. It comes with all the usual Marshmallow features, as well as some performance improvements and a handful of additional features for BlackBerry’s custom UI, keyboard and apps.
Just over a week ago we brought you news that BlackBerry was starting up a beta program for PRIV owners who wanted early access to the Android Marshmallow update. The idea is simple: Get a wide base of users testing and sending diagnostics, in return, they get the latest software and BlackBerry gets to identify and iron out any bugs before the public rollout. Right on schedule, the first batch of beta testers will get access to the OS from today, before a wider beta rollout begins.
After lackluster PRIV sales last quarter and a subsequent price cut, BlackBerry will be launching two mid-range devices later this year. Speaking to The National, CEO John Chen said their first device running Android “was too high-end a product” even for the enterprise market.
While we’re quite fond of the PRIV and its software customizations on top of Android, BlackBerry sold fewer than expected devices last quarter. To remedy the situation, BlackBerry (via Re/Code) is announcing a permanent $50 price cut to the device.
BlackBerry has opened up a new beta testing program to give BlackBerry PRIV owners early access to the upcoming Android Marshmallow software update. This news follows the announcement from the company’s CEO last week that the 6.0 update would be rolling out in late April, or early May.
During its fourth quarter earnings call this morning, John Chen, BlackBerry’s CEO, confirmed when we can expect Android Marshmallow to land on its first Google-powered smartphone. While many other manufacturers have already rolled out Android 6.0 to their customers, it seems BlackBerry PRIV owners will need to wait at least another month.
Update: You can now order the BlackBerry PRIV from Verizon Wireless for $30.00 per month with $0 down, or pay the full $720 retail price.
According to several Verizon staff members commenting in CrackBerry‘s forums, the carrier is preparing for a retail launch next week. It has seemingly been confirmed that the device will go on sale on March 11, with pre-orders opening on March 3.
While mobile photography keeps on improving thanks to the advancement of tiny camera sensors and image processors, it’s still nowhere near as fully-fledged as DSLR or Micro 4/3rd photography. You can’t swap out interchangeable lenses for different types of imagery, and have to rely on third party manufacturers producing clip-on accessories. That’s where the Aukey 18mm HD wide angle clip-on lens comes in.
When the original iPhone was announced 9 years ago, the smartphone market landscape was very different. One of the pre-iPhone champions, of course, was BlackBerry. Its physical QWERTY-equipped devices were fast, efficient and productive. Next to the iPhone, they looked old within a few weeks of Apple’s first smartphone launch.
After that came Android, and with it, the slow-demise of the once-giants of the mobile world. The Canadian company had to try and reinvent itself after years of trying to bring its own platform back to life.
As iPhone went from strength to strength, BlackBerry has had to start again with its very first Android handset. But just how does the company’s first Google-powered phone compare with what many regard to be the best phablet around?
More often than not, when a manufacturer decides to mess with software, adding its own ‘valuable’ take on what we should have on our phones, it ends up being a laggy mess of unused features. Whether its LG with its inefficient launcher, or Samsung with its TouchWiz, no Android OEM gets it right. With BlackBerry’s PRIV, although there are undoubtedly a couple of things I’d change, most of the custom software is very useful and is — dare I say it — better than stock Android…
I’ve almost lost count of the number of Android phones I’ve used over the past few years. Some are more memorable than others, but the one that really sticks in my mind is the original. The very first Android phone, the HTC-made T-Mobile G1.
There was something very unusual about it. It didn’t look like the Windows Mobile PDA-phone crossovers, it was nothing like a BlackBerry or an iPhone. It was that unique quirky factor that gave it its edge. Having a touchscreen which flicked out to reveal a full QWERTY keypad was something we’d only really seen on the Sidekick series.
Fast forward nearly 8 years later, and virtually every Android phone looks like every other smartphone. Of all the devices released over the past 12 months, I’d hazard a guess that 99.9% of them were the standard rectangle, touchscreen and no-keyboard affairs. Some might have curved dual-screen designs, but they’re still all-screen. Until the PRIV, we haven’t seen anything remotely decent with a physical QWERTY keyboard since the days of the G2…
BlackBerry chief John Chen recently stated that his company is only going to make Android smartphones this year. And if a report from Economic Times is anything to go by, they company might only make Android phones for the foreseeable future, signaling the end of the 3 year-old BB10 platform…
Update: The BlackBerry Priv is now available at T-Mobile.
Next Tuesday, T-Mobile will start selling the BlackBerry Priv online and in stores. The company’s first Android device is a make or break device that will determine whether they will keep making hardware in the future. Fortunately, the device has received positive reviews and all four major US carriers will be selling it in 2016.
John Chen has to be one of the most likable CEOs in the business. His honest-talking and humble character has won him many fans in the tech industry. What’s more, BlackBerry fans across the globe will credit him for saving the company at a point when it looked doomed. Or, at the very least, stopped it from going extinct. Sadly however, his latest comments might not go down so well with some of the BlackBerry-faithful…
Update: T-Mobile has made it official and is carrying the device starting January 26th.
In addition to arriving in more European countries, the BlackBerry PRIV will also be available through all four major carriers in the United States. BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed the news at CES today, but did not offer a timeline for when they’d be released.
