Blackberry Makes A Comeback With New KeyOne Smartphone

As keyboard free smartphones began to dominate the market, the BlackBerry started to die down. With users straying further from a technological world frequented by subtle clicky sounds of texting through a number pad or a keyboard (found mostly on the SideKick and Blackberry phones) we find ourselves handling phones with four or five buttons at most. Although many of us may have been discouraged by BlackBerry’s refusal to transition into a truly keyboard-free smartphone, that didn’t stop them from creating a new hybrid. BlackBerry just announced the BlackBerry KEYone. A new smartphone that features a physical keyboard. The same kind we grew to love as smartphones made their way to the top of the market.

The KEYone’s keyboard is touch sensitive, allowing users to use the keys as if it were a track pad. This will let us scroll down through /r/aww on reddit while looking for cat pictures without accidentally clicking on pictures of dogs. We can also program up to 52 shortcuts onto the keyboard that will instantly open up any assigned apps. The KEYone also features a Snapdragon 625 Octacore processor with clock speeds of 2.0GHz and 3GB of ram. Additionally, the phone will use the Qualcomm fast charging technology that will allow the phone to reach 50% in about 35 minutes. The rear camera has a 12MP with an aperture of f2 with an 8MP sensor in the front camera. The screen is 4.5 inches with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The BlackBerry KEYone specifications page notes that the rear camera can film at 4k resolution and shoot HDR photos. The phone’s fingerprint sensor is built into the spacebar. The unlocked version will be sold for about $550 USD and will be released in April.

We’re not sure if this will be the phone that will bring BlackBerry smartphones into the frequented thought of “should I get an Android or iPhone,” but it’s definitely a step up after not having heard the BlackBerry name in quite some time.