BlackBerry Comes out With yet Another Smartphone, Priv, Runs Android


BlackberryPrivI don’t know that I’ve ever reported on BlackBerry. Just kidding, I’m sure I have. But let’s face it, there really isn’t much to get excited about anymore when it comes to this tech company. We know BlackBerry goes way back; it’s even considered one of the biggest smartphone vendors in the world. We know it for supplying the government and NSA, specializing as secretive communications and mobile productivity. We know that the company lacks popularity, and it never really does anything we haven’t seen before. We also know that BlackBerry has never made an Android-run smartphone; it sure could’ve helped if it did this a while back (the BlackBerry OS isn’t very good). Despite the long-term downhill slope BlackBerry has been on, the new Priv smartphone is here, and the information is out. Let’s take a gander.

Should I start with Gizmodo’s painful version of the device, which apparently says it “falls incredibly short?”. No, perhaps you want to get a jist of the general specs, first. The $700 Priv sports a 5.43-inch curved AMOLED 1440p display, houses a 1.8GHz Snapdragon 808 SoC, has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and runs on a 3,410mAh battery (Ars Technica). Besides the generally nice spec list, the fact that the BlackBerry Priv runs Android could be a bit intriguing, if this wasn’t 2015. BlackBerry’s operating system has never been popular. It has never run well, and it has never had the apps mobile device users like. So here we are in 2015 and BlackBerry decides it’s finally time for Android? I personally am not going to bow down to their greatness.

BlackberryPriv1Over the years we’ve sure seen BlackBerry try out some new designs. In attempt to “get with the program”, the company steered away from that keyboard-stricken handheld feel and tried some more modern feeling models. Even after trying new designs, BlackBerry still manages to look “like BlackBerry” no matter what (it’s probably related to that damn keyboard).

So, thinking of Priv running Android, we’d consider it useful, right? No, because this is still an overpriced, way after the fact (should we congratulate them by finally going with Android?) smartphone that has a market for nobody. Those are more or less, the thoughts that Gizmodo has on the device. Why still have a physical keyboard, and why still give it tiny keys that only Ant Man could type on? Why such a nice AMOLED display if you’re going to ruin it with displayed edges that “add nothing to the experience of the phone”? Why live in the past with a microUSB port instead of the general consensus of switching to USB-C? Gizmodo claims the carrier reception was awful, and provides nothing special when it comes to security. I don’t see BlackBerry “getting with the program” at all here.

I bet I’m being harsh, leaning towards the biased words from Gizmodo. Yet, I feel I have a duty to be mad at BlackBerry. Why should I give you special treatment for finally following the pack? Why must it take you so very long to (kind of) understand what smartphone users like? Competition is the only thing that’s going to get you ahead in the smartphone business. I thought you knew this. You’ve been around for decades and yet, most of the population says “eww” at your presence. I say, if you really want that to change, change your entire identity or go away forever. Definitely dont cost $700, and work and feel like something from 2005. End rant.

Topics: Technology News Smartphones & Mobile Devices Tech Reviews

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