BlackBerry-branded smartphones from Chinese smartphone maker TCL may not be the top choice for every Android enthusiast, but it seems the phones got enough attention to warrant follow-ups.
Last year’s BlackBerry KEYone, which launched at MWC 2017, was an attempt to merge BlackBerry’s security and enterprise strengths with the flexibility and popularity of Android. It’s the first of more to come: At its press conference during the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced that it’ll release “at least two” new smartphones later this year, each of which will have a physical keyboard.
BlackBerry also announced a new Bronze color variant for the BlackBerry KEYone at the event: The Bronze Edition KEYone. It sports a matte bronze look complemented by a textured black back panel, and drops the standard KEYone’s microSD card slot in favor of a second SIM tray for dual-SIM capabilities. That fits in well with the Bronze Edition’s target markets of Europe, Middle East and Asia, but right now, it seems unlikely that the dual-SIM variant will make its way to the US.
TCL gave a Q1 2018 launch window for the Bronze Edition KEYone, but hasn’t released pricing information.
Source: TCL
TCL’s also bringing the previously launched BlackBerry Motion to US shores and pricing it at $449.99. The mid-range smartphone has a 5.5-inch FHD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 system-on-chip, 4GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, water and dust resistance, and the promise of an Android 8.0 Oreo update “later this year”.
Source: TCL
The BlackBerry Motion will be available for purchase starting January 12 at Amazon and BestBuy.com.
What are your thoughts on TCL’s BlackBerry announcements? Are you looking forward to the two new smartphones? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source 1: PocketNow Source 2: Engadget Source 3: CNET
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