BlackBerry KEYone Launched At Staggering Rs. 39,990 Does It Justify Its Price?

BlackBerry has launched the company’s latest smartphone – BlackBerry KEYone Limited Edition Black in India at a price tag of Rs. 39,990. The smartphone comes in Limited Edition Black color in India and it is available exclusively on Amazon.in starting from August 8th, 2017. The smartphone manufactured and sold by Optiemus Infracom and it is the last phone that is designed & engineered in-house by BlackBerry. Originally, the smartphone was launched at MWC 2017 and the company calling the smartphone as BlackBerry KEYone Limited Edition Black.

For your information, the company has made some changes in the specifications before launching it in India. The smartphone comes with 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage instead of 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage. The 3GB RAM + 32GB internal storage variant launched in international markets. The main highlight of the smartphone is that it comes with QWERTY keyboard and runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system with BlackBerry’s own security and productivity software. Apart from this, this is the first ever BlackBerry smartphone that has support for dual-SIM card support.

BlackBerry KEYone Launch Offers:

The BlackBerry KEYone comes with launch offers like 75GB additional data from Vodafone for three months, and buyers with American Express credit card will get 4,000 bonus points. Both the offers will end on 30th September 2017.

BlackBerry KEYone

Display, Processor, Memory, and Operating System

On the specifications front, the BlackBerry KEYone features a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio and it is protected by scratch resistant glass. As said above, the smartphone has 4-row QWERTY physical backlit keyboard with keys that respond to touch gestures, support for flick typing, and supports up to 52 customizable shortcuts. The smartphone is powered by 2.0GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor which is paired with Adreno 506 GPU & 4GB of RAM. The smartphone runs on Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and has 64GB internal storage which can be expanded further up to 2TB via microSD card.

Camera:

On the photography side, the BlackBerry KEYone features 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, Sony IMX378 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, EIS, and 8MP front facing the camera with f/2.2 aperture, 84-degree wide-angle lens for selfie & video-calling.

SIM Support, Connectivity, and Sensors:

The BlackBerry KEYone has Hybrid Dual SIM card slot and comes with connectivity features like 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS / GLONASS, NFC, USB 3.1 Type-C. The smartphone comes with sensors like accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and a proximity sensor.

Dimensions, and Weight:

The BlackBerry KEYone measures 149.3×72.5×9.4mm, and weighs 180 grams.

Features:

The BlackBerry KEYone comes preloaded with a suite of security & productivity apps like DTEK, BlackBerry Password Keeper, BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Calendar, BlackBerry Productivity Edge, BlackBerry Workspaces. The BlackBerry KEYone comes with Smart Keyboard functionality that offers auto-correction, next-word prediction, and flick typing that adapts to user’s language style.

There is a fingerprint sensor that is embedded into the spacebar on the keyboard of the device.

Battery:

The BlackBerry KEYone packs 3505 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and the smartphone charges up to 50% in just 36 minutes.

Alternative:

At such a price tag, the BlackBerry KEYone will compete with OnePlus 5, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S7 and others.

BlackBerry KEYone vs OnePlus 5 vs LG G6 vs Samsung Galaxy S7

Why You Should Not Buy BlackBerry KEYone

At a price tag of Rs. 39,990, the BlackBerry KEYone Limited Edition Black is a costly device and when compared with OnePlus 5, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S7 in terms of specifications, it does not offer value for money.

Press Release Quote:

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Hardip Singh, Executive Director, Optiemus Infracom Ltd, said:

“We are delighted to launch the KEYone LIMITED EDITION BLACK in India. It is specially designed for the Indian market, keeping in mind the customers’ requirements such as dual SIM. The device offers the world’s most secure Android smartphone experience combined with unrivaled productivity. We are confident that it will appeal to enterprise customers and consumers alike.”

Alex Thurber, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Mobility Solutions at BlackBerry said:

“We would like to congratulate our partner, Optiemus Infracom, on the launch of the BlackBerry KEYone LIMITED EDITION BLACK. We have worked closely with Optiemus to ensure that the BlackBerry experience and security are built into every layer of the device. We are also excited to see our ecosystem of software licensing partners, such as TCL Communications and Optiemus, working together to bring locally relevant BlackBerry-branded smartphones to customers, demonstrating how BlackBerry’s strategy to license our secure software to partners is gaining momentum.”

BlackBerry KEYone specifications

Display: 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels at 433 PPI and the display is protected by scratch-resistant glass

Processor: 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor with 650MHz Adreno 506 GPU

Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD

Keyboard: 4-row Physical QWERTY backlit keyboard with capacitive touch

Operating System: Android 7.1 Nougat

SIM Card Support: Hybrid dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Rear Camera: 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash, Sony IMX378 sensor, 1.55μm pixel size, 1/2.3″ sensor size, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, 4K video recording

Front Camera: 8MP front-facing camera with 1.12µm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture

Fingerprint sensor: Yes

Dimensions: 149.3 x 72.5 x 9.4mm

Weight: 180g

Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS / GLONASS, NFC, USB 3.1 Type-C

Battery: 3505mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0