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In spite of the rough concluding couple of years, BlackBerry is non dead nonetheless. In fact, information technology's trying something completely different to remain alive. BlackBerry appear recently that it would partner with telephone manufacturer TCL for all its hardware, while information technology provides the software. The first few examples of this partnership were merely re-branded Alcatel phones (a brand TCL owns), but at present the spousal relationship has produced something very BlackBerry-esque. The "Mercury" is a candybar-fashion telephone with a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard.

It's important to note, Mercury is just a pre-release name for the prototype BlackBerry and TCL are showing off at CES. The final hardware will probably have a more tedious proper name, as is BlackBerry's tradition. The mercury is more like past BlackBerry phones than the DTEK50 and DTEK60, which were rebranded Alcatel Idol handsets.

The Mercury has a 3:2 ratio LCD touch screen (closer to an iPad than a standard smartphone) above a full BlackBerry-manner QWERTY keyboard. There are those who swear by the physical buttons on BlackBerry's keyboards, and they've had precious few places to get them equally of late. The PRIV was BlackBerry's showtime (and only) in-firm Android phone. It failed to move many units, which led to BlackBerry's change in management. Other than that, there were a few older phones running BlackBerry OS like the Passport, but those phones have now largely been abandoned.

This phone has a more traditional Blackberry artful that goes beyond the keyboard. It has rounded edges and skillful heft, making it feel expensive. The back has a soft-touch cover with the BlackBerry logo emblazoned in the middle. It looks like a BlackBerry, not a rebadged Chinese smartphone.

I'1000 not sure the keyboard is enough of a selling point to get BlackBerry back in the game, though. A few years ago keyboards on phones were seen as a big selling betoken. Recall all those Droid ads that made fun of the iPhone for not having a keyboard? Now, at that place are no Android phones with keyboards. People just don't buy them because they're more interested in having a thinner, lighter phone with a larger screen.

Nosotros don't take a lot of detail on the specs, merely TCL has a reputation for aggressive pricing. Its Idol series has been in the same spec and toll range as the OnePlus three. On rest, those Alcatel phones tend to fall a little short insufficiently because of the software, but BlackBerry could change that. Release appointment is a mystery as well, just the first half of 2017 is a safe bet.