BlackBerry Mercury unveiling set for February 25 at MWC

midian182

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After BlackBerry had reached its long-term brand licensing deal with TCL last month, the Chinese firm teased its first true BlackBerry handset, codenamed Mercury, at CES 2017. There weren’t many details revealed at the time, but we now know the date of its official unveiling: February 25, the eve of Mobile World Congress.

BlackBerry Mobile sent out a tweet yesterday confirming the date, complete with a GIF of the handset showing the distinctive QWERTY physical keyboard that the brand is known for – though this was absent from the TCL-manufactured DTEK50 and DTEK60, which were modified and rebranded versions of the company's own Alcatel phones.

Information on the Mercury remains thin on the ground. It will run Android 7.0 Nougat, features a USB Type-C port, and has a fingerprint sensor built into the space bar - much like the BlackBerry Passport. Additionally, the touch-enabled keyboard lets you perform functions such as swiping to scroll and flick to type.

The Mercury’s other specifications are all rumors: a 2.02GHz Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 4.5-inch display (due to the size of the keyboard), a 1080p resolution, a 3,400 mAh battery, and an 18MP rear camera along with an 8MP front-facing shooter. It seems TCL is aiming for the mid-range market with this one.

As with other BlackBerry phones, the Mercury is aimed primarily at enterprise customers, and as such it comes with extra security features. The handset will ship with business software created by BlackBerry the company, which has now moved away from the hardware side of things.

Exactly how much the Mercury will cost remains a mystery, though Engadget believes it will be close to the DTEK50’s $300 price. We’ll find out more at Barcelona.

Hands-on image courtesy 9to5Google

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So they finally gave up with Blackberry's OS. I think this was the most sought thing within a Blackberry phone, at least for those who cared enough.

Now it's another Android phone, what makes it so unique? If you can install something on this one to make it more secure, you should be able to do the same with other brand Android devices.
 
So they finally gave up with Blackberry's OS. I think this was the most sought thing within a Blackberry phone, at least for those who cared enough.

Now it's another Android phone, what makes it so unique? If you can install something on this one to make it more secure, you should be able to do the same with other brand Android devices.

Because the software additions that blackberry adds are not available on other android handset. if that was the case why would u buy a blackberry if you could do it on any android phone that would make no sense.
 
So they finally gave up with Blackberry's OS. I think this was the most sought thing within a Blackberry phone, at least for those who cared enough.

Now it's another Android phone, what makes it so unique? If you can install something on this one to make it more secure, you should be able to do the same with other brand Android devices.

I can understand someone not knowing that the Android kernal itself has to be hardened in order to make a phone secure. But you seriously don't notice the PHYSICAL KEYBOARD that doubles as a trackpad? Wow. If this thing hits the market at somewhere near that alleged $300 I will have one in a hot minute.
 
I can understand someone not knowing that the Android kernal itself has to be hardened in order to make a phone secure. But you seriously don't notice the PHYSICAL KEYBOARD that doubles as a trackpad? Wow. If this thing hits the market at somewhere near that alleged $300 I will have one in a hot minute.
Have you ever used a swipe-style keyboard? It has nothing to envy a physical keyboard.
 
I can understand someone not knowing that the Android kernal itself has to be hardened in order to make a phone secure. But you seriously don't notice the PHYSICAL KEYBOARD that doubles as a trackpad? Wow. If this thing hits the market at somewhere near that alleged $300 I will have one in a hot minute.
Have you ever used a swipe-style keyboard? It has nothing to envy a physical keyboard.

A physical swipe keyboard is the best of both worlds. The keyboard swiping was the only redeeming feature of the BB Passport followed by the lack of need to rotate the screen since it was square.
 
So they finally gave up with Blackberry's OS. I think this was the most sought thing within a Blackberry phone, at least for those who cared enough.

Now it's another Android phone, what makes it so unique? If you can install something on this one to make it more secure, you should be able to do the same with other brand Android devices.

I can understand someone not knowing that the Android kernal itself has to be hardened in order to make a phone secure. But you seriously don't notice the PHYSICAL KEYBOARD that doubles as a trackpad? Wow. If this thing hits the market at somewhere near that alleged $300 I will have one in a hot minute.

Exactly, the physical keybord and the BB Hub are some thing I'd like to have. If only I could afford this phone :(
 
I can understand someone not knowing that the Android kernal itself has to be hardened in order to make a phone secure. But you seriously don't notice the PHYSICAL KEYBOARD that doubles as a trackpad? Wow. If this thing hits the market at somewhere near that alleged $300 I will have one in a hot minute.
Have you ever used a swipe-style keyboard? It has nothing to envy a physical keyboard.

Nothing can replace the "feeling" of touching the keyboard.
 
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