The BlackBerry Priv might soon be available through Verizon. Though the carrier is not offering the device presently, it did say in a tweet that the Canadian firm’s first Android phone is “coming soon.”
Priv on Verizon sooner
This tweet from the carrier follows a previous leak in which the Priv is shown running on the Verizon Wireless network. Previously, it was speculated that the BlackBerry Priv would join Verizon’s line-up of smartphone next year. However, now after the tweet, it seems like the device will arrive earlier than expected.
There exists a possibility that the device could be launched in time for the holiday shopping season. The BlackBerry Priv has already been available on AT&T since Nov. 6. Verizon Wireless, popularly known as Big Red in the industry, has not disclosed any details regarding the shipping of the phone as yet., nor has it disclosed pricing details.
Some time ago, there were reports that the device could be purchased from B&H photo, a camera and electronics retailer based in New York, at a price of $699.99. In the meantime, BlackBerry started offering this device in the U.S. for $699 through its online store.
Priv – last from BlackBerry?
During the Code Mobile conference in October, BlackBerry CEO John Chen said that if the company fails to sell 5 million phones on an annual basis, then there a strong possibility that it could quit the smartphone business and focus on software and security instead.
“My job is to make sure the value of the company is protected … Even if I’m not in the handset business, getting into providing security for Android lets us provide solutions via software,” Chen said.
The BlackBerry Priv sports a 5.4-inch screen with a resolution of 1440×2560. The pixel density of the phone is quite impressive at 441 ppi. It features dual curved edges similar to Samsung devices Galaxy S6 and S6 edge+. The device comes with built-in storage of 32 GB and RAM of 3GB. The memory can be expanded up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card. The powerful device features an octa-core 1.8 GHz CPU, an Adreno 418 GPU and a Snapdragon 808 chipset.
On Friday, BlackBerry shares closed up 5.53% at $8.02. Year to date, the stock is down by almost 27% while in the last one month, it is up by over 10%.
