14 DAY TRIAL // TCL, the Chinese company that has been chosen by BlackBerry to launch its smartphones, has been teasing the QWERTY smartphone the Canadian company promised last year for at least a month.
However, the smartphone wasn't introduced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month as many of us thought. The good news is the so-called BlackBerry Mercury was showcased at the trade fair, so many visitors already had the chance to check it out.
Today, BlackBerry has confirmed the Mercury, or whatever its market name, will be officially introduced to the world on February 25. We're also expecting the phone to be ready for pre-order a few days later, but its availability remains a mystery for the moment.
And the same goes for the hardware inside the smartphone. Even though TLC and BlackBerry showcased the Mercury at CES 2017, no information about its specifications were made public or given to the press.
25.02.17 #MWC2017 #BlackBerryMobile pic.twitter.com/uChVjp62TJ — BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) January 24, 2017
All we have until now are just unconfirmed rumors that might or might not be true. What we do know is that this is indeed the QWERTY smartphone that BlackBerry promised to launch before handing the entire production, market and sale of BlackBerry devices to another company.
If any of the previous rumors prove to be accurate, then the BlackBerry Mercury should be powered by either a Snapdragon 821 or 625 processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory (expandable via microSD card).
On the back, the smartphone is expected to feature a 13-megapixel photo snapper with LED flash, while in the front there should be a secondary 8-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls.
The Mercury will ship with the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system right out of the box. We're hoping more details about the phone's price will emerge in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.