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Blackberry KeyOne - Back to the roots with lots of new features

25.2.2017

Translation: machine translated

Blackberry unveiled its latest smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The KeyOne is a device that is sure to please Blackberry fans in particular. We have critically scrutinised the device and think it has mass appeal: The mass appeal is definitely there.

Blackberry is a brand that should no longer exist. Having missed out on the rise of smartphones, the manufacturer is in an increasingly bad way. No apps, no outstanding devices and no innovation like in the old days, when Blackberry was one of the first manufacturers to install a full keyboard on a handheld. But that's not all: said keyboard was good, very good in fact.

But the brand has fans like only Apple has. Nothing beats a Blackberry for them, they have their in-jokes and their own spelling. Some are of the opinion that Blackberry can only be spelt BBRY, perhaps even has to be. Strange. These fans, who are reviled by Android fans and Apple fans alike as outdated morons and imbeciles, must be thanked today. Guys and gals, it's good that you have remained loyal to Blackberry BBRY. Because with the KeyOne, the manufacturer is finding a bit of new fame. The device, formerly known under the codename Blackberry Mercury and previously rumoured to be called the DTEK70, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Feature phones

BlackBerry KEYone

4.50", 12 Mpx, 4G

The most important specs

3505mAh battery
Sony IMX 378 camera sensor, which is the same sensor used in the Google Pixel XL
Android 7.1 Nougat
4.5 inch IPS display
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Resolution: 1620x1080 pixels
Keyboard
USB C-Type 3.1 with Quickcharge 3.0
Snapdragon 625 processor
3GB RAM
32GB internal memory
Slot for external memory card

Why invent something new?

At first glance, the Blackberry KeyOne seems a little quirky, as the device breaks with the usual shape of the rectangle with rounded corners and, above all, brings back something that fans of the brand have been missing for years: The keyboard.

Yes, these are real buttons

In an industry where everyone is always crowing about innovation but only ever produces rectangles with rounded corners and earns billions with them, this is a somewhat daring manoeuvre. After all, apart from BBRY fans, very few people will still have memories of buttons on smartphones. Blackberry is taking a step back, making keyboard fans happy and has also hidden a few more functions in the QWERTY keyboard. The capacitive keys respond to movement as well as pressure, allowing scrolling and other functions directly from the keyboard. In combination with the touchscreen, users can decide how they want to use the extra function depending on the situation.

All right, I admit that the return to the keyboard is nothing new. The Blackberry Priv tried this back in 2015, but users weren't very impressed as the fold-out keyboard was reportedly flimsy and wobbly. But the KeyOne gets it right. The keyboard is an integral part of the device and therefore sits firmly in place.

Feature phones

BlackBerry private

5.40", 18 Mpx, 4G

The Blackberry KeyOne is not manufactured by Blackberry itself. The company announced last year that it was giving up its hardware production and licensing the device name. The manufacturer is now called TCL Corporation. The Chinese electronics group was founded in 1981 and made a name for itself in its early years as a producer of knock-off cassette tapes. Over the course of its history, the brand has acquired licence rights for product names. These include Alcatel, on which the latest Blackberry devices are based, and Palm from HP. However, the KeyOne was designed by Blackberry before the company stopped producing hardware. It could therefore be that the KeyOne is the last Blackberry smartphone with a keyboard. But I doubt it, because if there's one thing Blackberry has proven, it's that the keyboard isn't dead yet.

In Use

The Blackberry KeyOne runs Android 7.1, and the company deserves credit for largely dispensing with annoying customisations to the user interface. This also keeps the update cycle short, which allows Blackberry to roll out security updates and other customisations extremely quickly. In the past, Blackberry has even been faster than Google with its updates.

Blackberry's Blackberry OS seems to be history, which might not please some fans. On the other hand, Android is open enough that customisations to the user interface can also be implemented by users.

The mass appeal is obvious. Because Blackberry relies on a hardware keyboard, users always have the entire screen to display information, whereas the soft keyboard on all other phones takes up what feels like a third of the screen.

A possible comeback

The Blackberry KeyOne proves that Blackberry has not yet run out of ideas and that the company, which many have declared dead, has not yet lost its creative spark or its courage. The device not only has appeal for fans or security freaks, but also for the masses who want to use their screen as a screen and not cover it up with a keyboard.

The KeyOne is expected to be available from April 2017. The price of the item has not yet been finalised. The price mentioned above is a guide price. If you pre-order the device, the price will apply when the device is released. <p

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Dominik Bärlocher

Senior Editor

dominik.baerlocher@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.

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Blackberry KeyOne - Back to the roots with lots of new features

The most important specs

Why invent something new?

In Use

A possible comeback

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