When Blackberry recently released its new flagship, the BlackBerry KEYone, former BlackBerry addicts from all over the world rejoiced. This phone really is reminiscent of the BlackBerrys of years gone by due to the return of its signature QWERTY keyboard, and the addition of smartphone features like a front camera, extra RAM and more storage makes it a competitively priced alternative to Samsung and Apple’s recent mobile offerings.
Hello again, keyboard
The addition of a tactile QWERTY keyboard to the BlackBerry KEYone will recall memories of your first addictive first CrackBerry, and while typing on it takes some getting used to, some reviews have stated that the keyboard lends itself to more accurate typing than a touch screen keyboard.
BlackBerry has also incorporated 52 customisable shortcuts into the keyboard and the entire keyboard also acts as a trackpad, making it easy to navigate without even having to touch the screen. A blended fingerprint sensor is hidden in the space bar.
Perfect for businesses
The BlackBerry KEYone is being touted as the ideal smartphone for businesses, and BlackBerry Hub is its main office. It combines all your messages, calls and other notifications in one place, so you can access WhatsApp, texts, BlackBerry Messenger, email, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter and Slack. Hub offers the option to customise notifications and save specific customisations for specific times, like weekends, so that you can disconnect when you need to.
BlackBerry’s DTEK app is a security feature that monitors the security status level of your phone and gives you a rating. You can continuously monitor the permissions and access that your apps have. Due to DTEK, KEYone is being called the most secure Android phone currently on the market.
The KEYone’s battery life is enviable in a world where power banks have almost become a necessity. Its sports an advertised battery life of 26 hours, but some tests have stretched that to as much as 36 hours. Boost mode and quick charge 3.0 allows you to charge to 50% in just 36 minutes, and tests have shown it takes roughly 1 hour and 52 minutes to be fully charged.
The BlackBerry KEYone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and users have access to the entire Google Play store. The KEYone sports an eight-megapixel front camera and a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 1,620 x 1,080 resolution LCD display. Gorilla Glass ensures that one drop doesn’t ruin the screen.
For more information about the BlackBerry KEYone, contact Smartcom today.