Yes, BlackBerry has made an Android phone.The
Finnish manufacturer used to jostle with the likes
of Apple, Samsung and Nokia at the very top of
the mobile phone tree, but it utterly failed to
keep pace with the smartphone revolution,
lurching from crisis to crisis refusing to shift from
the boxy, physical keyboard designs and its own
operating system.
However, after being approached by Android,
BlackBerry decided to have a go at making its
very own phone that made the most of both the
Android ecosystem and the Google Play store
while retaining BlackBerry’s security features and
of course that physical keyboard. The result is
the BlackBerry Priv.
BlackBerry has gone for a 5.4-inch, slightly
curved, 2560 x 1440 resolution touchscreen that
is a real beauty. The colours are fantastic, it is
incredibly sharp and the subtlety of the curves
means that you don’t lose anything off the side
of the screen. It is responsive and altogether
one of the best we’ve seen.
The rear of the device is encased in a tensile
weave with a rubbery feel. Usually a phone at
the price of the Priv, £559, would sport a metal
and glass fi nish, but there is method to
BlackBerry’s madness. The weave provides a
tonne of grip, enabling the user to hold it
confi dently and, more importantly, slide out the
physical keyboard with only one hand. Although it
doesn’t feel premium, the unique design and
elegantly curved screen gives the Priv a
distinctive and attractive look.
The keyboard was clearly non-negotiable for
BlackBerry. It is one of its unique selling points
and is synonymous with the brand. However, it
has dragged it into the 21st century. It is fully
capacitive, meaning that running your fi nger
vertically along the keyboard scrolls up and down
a webpage. It is also extremely sensitive, but
with a bit of practise you should be able to
comfortably navigate the screen with your
keyboard. You can also set up hotkeys and
assign apps to certain letters so you can, for
example, load up Facebook just by tapping the F
key or even use a button to act as a camera
shutter. This aspect contains a lot of subtle
functions that really make this a keyboard for the
modern smartphone user.
The cameras are a mixed bag. The rear-facing
camera is excellent, taking gorgeously sharp
18MP images with OIS and dual-fl ash for
enhanced low-light photography. On the otherReviews
BlackBerry Priv
$NCEM$GTT[ƒPCNN[OCMGUKVUƒTUV#PFTQKFRJQPGDWVVJGMG[DQCTFKVŦUUQ
HCOQWUHQTTGOCKPUKPVCEV
- TGEQTFKPI
Even though the Priv only has a
2K resolution screen, it is
capableofshootingvideoin
4K.Soyoucangetamazing
video quality, but you will have
to upload it somewhere else to
see the full picture#NNPGY EWUVQOKUCDNG
SWKEM NCWPEJ
Tapping and holding the Home
button on the Priv not only
brings up the standard Google
searchoption,butalsotwo
more quick launch icons that
youcancustomisetoyourown
preference. It can be anything
fromspeeddialtoanapp/GOQT[ DCPM
ThePrivshipswith32GB
storage,butalsosupports2TB
of microSD card storage. It is
swappable, so you can take it
outandpopitinwithout
dismantling your phone