BlackBerry Welcomes Android to the Family with the new BlackBerry Priv

BlackBerr_Priv — Image Credit: CrackBerry

BlackBerry has finally taken the plunge. The much awaited and anticipated Android plunge. BlackBerry has unveiled its first ever Android powered smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv. More on the BlackBerry Priv a little later, first let’s assess what an Android on a BlackBerry would actually mean to both, the BlackBerry and the Android ecosystems.

BlackBerry is not Android and Android is not BlackBerry

The question on everybody’s mind right now is the level of ecosystem compatibility that BlackBerry will allow once it steps into the Android realm. On the surface the BlackBerry OS – BB10 – may look like a massive UI tweak of other modern mobile OSes, including Android, but the fact remains that there are a lot of intrinsic differences between the BlackBerry ecosystem and the Android ecosystem.

Perhaps, the single most important of these reasons is BlackBerry’s security paradigm. It is well documented that BlackBerry has always had a tight-knit and secure ecosystem comprising of the operating system and the apps available on BlackBerry’s platform. Android has certainly come a long way in terms of security, however, Google itself will not claim that Android is completely bloatware free, which says a lot without saying much on their part.

More from iSpyPrice: Click here to find some of BlackBerry’s best offerings

One of the primary reasons why BlackBerry is so late to the Android party was their unwillingness to expose the BlackBerry ecosystem to the security muddle of Android. So now when they have finally decided to embrace Android they must be extremely vary of not alienating their customer base, howsoever minuscule it may be.

What makes the BlackBerry Priv stand out from its competitors?

The answer is nothing short of a rhetoric. The answer is “it is a BlackBerry powered by an Android.” And that is the USP of the BlackBerry Priv. While BlackBerry will slowly begin to adopt Android at a much larger scale in terms of their product offerings, they will also do well to ensure that they don’t lose their wildcard. BlackBerry is still widely regarded as being a secure mobile platform and that is what gives them a fanbase that is still loyal and desperately wants BlackBerry to do well. This transition is actually a great opportunity for BlackBerry to expands its wings on the world’s most widely adopted mobile platform while still cashing in on its brand value.

The specs on the BlackBerry Priv

The BlackBerry Priv has a 5.4 inch curved edge display with a pixel density of 540 ppi. The Android version on board the BlackBerry Priv is Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop). The BlackBerry Priv packs a punch with dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 and quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU power alongside the Adreno 418 GPU. The Priv comes with an 18 MP primary camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, and dual-LED (dual tone) flash. However, the secondary camera is a mere 2 MP. The phone also boasts of 32 GB internal memory and a 3GB RAM. The microSD card slot allows up to 200 GB of storage. The battery on board the BlackBerry Priv is an impressive Li-Ion 3410 mAh battery.

Perhaps, the most interesting feature of the BlackBerry Priv is its keyboard that appears when you slide the screen up. This keyboard doubles up as a trackpad and triples up as a mouse depending on which kind of input your application requires.

The Priv could be the catalyst that BlackBerry deserves

In many ways the BlackBerry Priv is a landmark device. The fact that in the face of near extinction BlackBerry has finally decided to adopt Android could be a sign of things to come, or at least we hope it is a sign of things to come. In a market which is crowded with options consumers could still want to own a BlackBerry device if the company decides to reach out to the market through a platform that most consumers are familiar with. In the long run if BlackBerry is able to turn things around, it does appear that Android will play a crucial role. The Priv could very well be the catalyst that BlackBerry needs, and rightfully deserves.

Check out this video of BlackBerry CEO John Chen introducing the BlackBerry Priv to the world.