BlackBerry launches Priv, its first Android phone, in India at Rs 62,990; flaunts curved screen, slide-out keyboard

BlackBerry, the once-iconic Candaian company, that has been struggling to make its BlackBerry 10 phone software a viable alternative to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, attempts to cross ranks with the Priv - its first Android phone. The name Priv stands for both privacy and privilege. BlackBerry's traditional strengths in security and privacy protection is also the Priv's USP.

The Priv, which was first officially announced in October 2015 and went on sale in November 2015 in US and Canada (followed by other markets), has been launched in India with a premium price tag of Rs 62,990. The phone will go on sale in Indian markets from January 30. (Also read: Quick review: Priv, BlackBerry's first Android phone)

The Priv has attracted mixed reviews since its launch and BlackBerry has also hinted the company may soon unveil another Android phone this year.

The new Priv has a physical keyboard, a rarity on Android phones these days. It looks like any other phone until you slide the keyboard out from the bottom, like a desk drawer.

The BlackBerry Priv comes with a 5.4-inch display and is powered by a 1.8 GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal memory (expandable by up to 2 TB). The single SIM 4G phone runs Android and sports an 18 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front camera with 3,410 mAh battery. BlackBerry promises 22.5 hours of mixed use.

The screen on the Priv is curved on both sides, similar to Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge devices. Slide a toolbar from the side to access your calendar, messages and contacts. The email app is also more sophisticated than most; it supports rich-text formatting, such as italics and colours, when composing messages.

BlackBerry devices are known for their security and privacy protections, and the company built some of those features into the Priv's hardware. It comes with an app that rates your device security based on factors such as whether you've enabled a passcode. The BlackBerry app also identifies other apps that grab personal information.

BlackBerry says all new Android software patches will be rolled out to Priv phones and says the company is committed to this.

BlackBerry offers icons that serve as shortcuts to frequent tasks, such as composing a message, viewing alarms or checking data usage. Windows phones also have a similar feature.

The move to Android will also help BlackBerry cash in on the app-rich ecosystem of Android, the lack of which has been an area of complain for many BlackBerry users in the past

With hacking and data theft issues becoming a bigger concern these days, BlackBerry expects keen interest in its pre-loaded DTEK feature that alerts users every time any app attempts to access data, or turn on the phone's microphone or camera.

BlackBerry is hoping its sleek design and touch-sensitive keys that allows users to swipe, scroll and set up shortcuts will woo former loyalists back to using the Priv. (Photos: BlackBerry's first Android smartphone)

Blackberry is pivoting to focus more on software and device management services but has said it will stick with hardware if the segment is profitable.

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(With inputs from agencies)