Blackberry is back and reinventing the keyboard

It can be recalled that last November, TCL divulged that it will introduce its new smartphone that will raise the BlackBerry legacy.

The video doesn’t reveal anything much about the smartphone.

Whatever it ends up being called, we can assume that it will include BlackBerry’s DTEK software for security and encryption, which along with the keyboard is likely to be a major selling point of the phone.

In a CES news release, Chinese tech giant TCL’s mobile branch, TCL Communications Technology (TCT) announced it’s planning on reinvigorating the classic smartphone brand for 2017. The feature was previously seen on the BlackBerry Passport, but this time, it’s poised to be more useful. More details on the device are promised for Mobile World Congress, the mobile telecom industry show that will take place in Barcelona in March.

So when can we expect the “Mercury” to make its way to retail stores? Whether the device will be enough to attract the former lovers of BlackBerry’s physical keyboard that have since ditched the brand remains to be seen. It even has the textured black plastic back which feels great. Additionally, Mercury is supposed to have 4 GB of RAM to accommodate images from its 18-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel front camera.

So what will the Mercury offer? Crackberry managed to go hands-on with the phone, which it describes as a metal body with a soft touch back.

The Mercury runs Android 7.0 Nougat. Sitting in between the speakers is a USB Type-C charging port.

You’ll find no water-proofing here, but you do get a convenience key on the right that you can program to launch other apps, like the camera or your email. TCL, a company that is now in full control over the future of BlackBerry’s hardware, made that perfectly clear when it unveiled the Mercury. According to reports, the new device has reportedly been named (for now at least) the the Mercury.

As we mentioned, BlackBerry and TCL aren’t releasing specifications for the Mercury yet. The DTEK50 and DTEK60 have been around for a few months, but it’s hard to tell if they’ve turned the heads of enthusiasts – or anyone.

As we stated earlier, things are subject to change with this device, of course, but we sure hope they don’t.

Will it attract people away from Apple, Samsung, or Google? Many expected a formal launch. BlackBerry confirmed it wasn’t done with hardware keyboards, and it turns out that is indeed the case.