Last hurrah: BlackBerry will make one more phone with a physical keyboard

Here's a first look at alleged images of the new BlackBerry

By Lulu Chang Updated December 5, 2016

tcl blackberry ces facebook on old — Sayid Zulhusni/123RF

Feeling nostalgic for those days of yore when your phone came with a physical keyboard? Well, those days may soon be returning. According to John Chen, the CEO of BlackBerry, those who just can’t get enough of clicking away on an actual keypad may soon have reason to celebrate. “We have one keyboard phone I promised people,” Chen told Bloomberg TV. “It’s coming.”

Given that BlackBerry announced earlier in 2016 that it would no longer be designing or making its own smartphones, it looks like the firm is planning for one last hurrah and one that is true to BlackBerry’s signature keyboard. Because surely, we cannot live in a world where the only option is a touchscreen.

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On Saturday, Chinese social network Weibo posted what appears to be leaked images of the upcoming BlackBerry phone. However, the authenticity of these images has not been verified.

mercury-collage-796x530 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

While no specs were released alongside the alleged images, rumors have suggested that the new handset will feature a 4.5-inch full HD display, a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, an 18MP rear-facing camera, and an 8MP front-facing camera. As for its operating system, we can probably count on Android 7.0 Nougat.

It’s still unclear as to when the handset would be released and how much it would cost. For that matter, those of us in the U.S. might not even be able to get carrier support for a new BlackBerry, especially now that the company has moved more and more in the direction of software and away from its hardware roots.

While Chen has hinted at the possibility of a new BlackBerry phone with its trademark keyboard, his Bloomberg TV interview was the first confirmation we received of the handset. Now that he has really sent the rumor mill churning, we will be sure to keep you posted on any new developments about the smartphone.

But don’t hold your breath, friends. This one may be in the works for a while.

Article originally published in November. Updated on 12-5-2016 by Lulu Chang: Added leaked images and specs.

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Classic BlackBerries are finally losing suppport as company shuts down services

BlackBerry Key2. Credits: BlackBerry official.

After kickstarting the smartphone era, BlackBerry's classic devices and services are finally shutting down. No, not the Android-powered modern BlackBerries such as the KeyOne, Key2, and Key2 LE, but anything that ran a BlackBerry-branded operating system. Whether this is a classic QWERTY keyboard powered by BlackBerry 7, or the iPhone-inspired BlackBerry 10, or even the forgotten BlackBerry PlayBook OS -- it's all shutting down this month.
"As another milestone in the BlackBerry journey, we will be taking steps to decommission the legacy services for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1, and earlier versions, with an end of life or termination date of January 4, 2022," the company announced. "As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS, and 911 functionality. We have chosen to extend our service until then as an expression of thanks to our loyal partners and customers."
BlackBerry bids farewell to its longtime customers. Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
It's the end of an era for what was once a distinguished product that defined the market a decade ago. Even predating iMessage, the BlackBerry instant messaging service -- BBM -- was a great selling point for the product line. As iOS, Android, and WhatsApp began to dominate, BlackBerry devices began to fall by the wayside.
The company tried to rejuvenate its smartphone business by launching its own touchscreen phones and later its own operating system in 2013, but had little success. Unable to keep up,ity stopped the creation of smartphones in 2016 and licensed services to TCL Ltd. between 2016 to 2020. BlackBerry promised to launch a smartphone by the end of 2021 in partnership with OnwardMobility, but that hasn't panned out.
The company has now shifted its focus to selling software. It briefly had a nostalgia-fueled increase in its share price this year, which later nearly returned to its original price. While the market has been saturated with multiple companies claiming a stake in the smartphone pie, hopefully, BlackBerry manages to return to some form of relevance with its current partnership.

Mobile

BlackBerry rises from the grave: New 5G phone with a keyboard coming in 2021

BlackBerry Key2. Credits: BlackBerry official.

BlackBerry is the smartphone brand that steadfastly refuses to die. The presumed-dead name has been resurrected once again, this time by a new company called OnwardMobility. It will work with manufacturer FIH Mobile to create and sell a 5G BlackBerry Android phone with a physical keyboard, ready for a potential release in the U.S. and Europe during the first half of 2021.

You read that right: A new BlackBerry phone with a physical keyboard and 5G, running Google’s Android software, is coming next year. TCL Communications was the last company to produce BlackBerry smartphones. It did so under license from BlackBerry Ltd., which continues to provide mobile security services, but isn’t in the hardware business anymore. TCL let its license lapse in February 2020 when modern, Android-based BlackBerry phones became a thing of the past. Until now.

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TCL won’t make BlackBerry phones anymore, sending the brand back into limbo

BlackBerry Key2 LE review

TCL Communication has announced it will no longer be making BlackBerry smartphones, after taking over the dormant brand at the end of 2016, and bringing it back to life with a series of ever-improving devices. In a statement tweeted out by the official BlackBerry Mobile account, TCL Communication does not have the rights to design, manufacture, or sell BlackBerry phones any longer.

This means the BlackBerry Key 2 LE will be the last BlackBerry-branded phone produced by TCL Communication to be released, and it follows the BlackBerry Key 2, and the BlackBerry KeyOne. TCL Communication’s BlackBerry phones took the features fans of the brand loved — the physical keyboard, long battery life, and extra levels of security — and put them inside modern hardware with Google Android software. While not for everyone, they were successful with those either familiar with the brand, or those looking for something a little different.
What does this mean for BlackBerry?
The future of BlackBerry phones is once again unknown. While TCL Communication will not make another BlackBerry phone, it does not necessarily mean we will never see another BlackBerry phone. It’s possible the global license could be snapped up by another company eager to capitalize on the brand’s highly recognizable name. HMD Global, for example, has seen considerable success with the Nokia name since acquiring the license, while British phone maker Bullitt owns the license to make phones from brands including Cat, JCB, and Land Rover.