After the Nexus 6P, another flagship Android smartphone has been unveiled in Malaysia today. BlackBerry today officially launched the Priv in the country, its first flagship smartphone since 2014’s Passport.
The Priv is a significant product from the company. After struggling with its BB10 devices, the Priv is the first Blackberry device that runs on Android. It is significant, as BlackBerry has actually ported some of the best features from BB10 into the Priv. Things such as the BlackBerry Hub runs on the Priv, and BlackBerry has actually included new features unique to the Priv.
In terms of hardware, the Priv is also the most powerful device from BlackBerry. It runs on a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot that supports up to 2TB cards. BlackBerry also fitted a dual-curve 5.4-inch 2560 x 1440 OLED display on the Priv, an 18MP rear camera sensor with OIS and 4K recording, a 3,410mAh battery and finally, a slide-out keyboard.
The slide out keyboard is BlackBerry’s attempt at differentiating in the mobile stage. At the launch, BlackBerry states that the world is ready to “rediscover” an old form factor. With its curved edges and slide out keyboard, the Priv definitely stands out.
BlackBerry has also added several software additions in its version of Android on the Priv. These include security features such as hardware-level encryption and the DTEK by BlackBerry app, which monitors the device security and app permission in real time. In addition, there are also several productivity-based inclusions, such as the BlackBerry Hub (obviously), as well as Pop Up Widgets and Productivity Tab. We’ll be covering these features more in our hands on post.
The BlackBerry Priv will be available from 15 December 2015 from 11Street, Celcom, Maxis Enterprise, Tune Talk and other BlackBerry authorised partners at a retail price of RM3,559 (inclusive of GST). Pre orders can be done from today at 11Street, and from 10 December at selected Blue Cube outlets – both pre order promotions will be offering the Priv at a special price of RM3,388 (inclusive of GST).
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