A BlackBerry phone running Android? For several years, armchair pundits have urged the once-dominant, now-floundering Canadian phone maker to develop a handset that used Google’s mobile operating system.
Now that they’re finally doing so, many of those same critics are heaping scorn on them for arriving too late to the Android party. It seems BlackBerry just can’t win in the eyes of some people.
Much as it pains me to admit it, they may have a point.
But first, a bit about the phone in question. It is called the Priv and was revealed to the world by company chief executive John Chen in an interview this past week on Business News Network.
From Chen’s fairly brief demo of the Priv, it looks like an interesting bit of kit.
Going on what I can deduce from its fleeting debut and official pictures subsequently released by BlackBerry, the Priv appears to have a fairly large touch screen – around 5.5 inches, which would put in the same league, size-wise at least, as the iPhone 6 Plus and a tad smaller than the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
This would make it one of BlackBerry’s biggest handsets to date.
In addition to running Android, it has one other clever trick up its sleeve: a slide-out keyboard. It’s a nice big one too, by the looks of it along the lines of the fixed keyboard on BlackBerry’s quirky Passport smartphone.
It also looks remarkably slim for a slider.
More details will be released closer to the phone’s official launch some time before year-end.
Will this be the phone that changes BlackBerry’s fortunes, wooing back the millions of former fans who deserted the brand for rivals like Apple and Samsung over the past six or so years?
Will it be enough to persuade the core of BlackBerry faithful who’ve stuck with the company so far but many of whom may now be considering other options?
Don’t get me wrong. I really want them to succeed. A strong BlackBerry means more competition, which is good for consumers. But I fear the company may have a problem with both of the above categories of customer it’s hoping to attract.
Those who’ve switched allegiances have a wide choice of other options from the likes of iOS, Android and even Windows Phone.
Based on the glimpses we got of it, we know almost nothing about the hardware, specs and performance of the Priv. But from a quick, admittedly totally unscientific poll of friends, colleagues and even my teenage kids, it will have to be something either darn special or super cheap to tempt them – neither of which is likely, I suspect.
What about the BlackBerry faithful? The company may have an uphill battle here too. I fear many long-time BlackBerry users will find the Android operating system alien and confusing after the elegant simplicity of BB8 and BB10.
Chen provided a perfect, if unwitting, example of this last point. In the interview he refers to the Priv as a smartphone that “runs Google”. This clanger is followed by a cringeworthy attempt to demonstrate the device.
It’s clear Chen is pretty much clueless about how Android works. And he’s the chief executive. How will ordinary mortals fare?
I do think the Priv, if the final product turns out to be half-decent, will appeal to a small, but possibly significant, segment of Android users.
I’m talking about those who’ve been clamouring for a smartphone with a big touch screen for browsing the web and watching videos, but also a decent-sized physical keyboard for tackling e-mail and even editing the odd text document and spreadsheet.
BlackBerry’s excellent security software will, no doubt, be baked into the device, so it will also appeal to corporate bosses and IT managers who hate the idea of staff walking around with sensitive company information on their non-BlackBerry smartphones.
Will this be enough of a market to resurrect BlackBerry as a hardware maker to be reckoned with?
Only time will tell. Who knows, maybe the Priv will be a powerhouse of a device that’ll knock everyone’s socks off?
Unlikely, but I for one, am not writing BlackBerry’s obituary just yet.
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