At CES, the Las Vegas fair with one of the cutting-edge technology presentation stages, TCL held a pre-presentation of what would be the BlackBerry Mercury, although it is not yet known if it will be its final name, a terminal was shown that until now was only known through rumors and some photos and videos. It is estimated that it will be officially presented only at the Mobile World Congress that will be held in Barcelona at the end of February.
There is no doubt that Blackberry is always in the news, although it has its own philosophy, it has not yet managed to re-enter the mobile market as it was in its golden years, perhaps due to its somewhat capricious ideas as it does not adapt to current platforms, segments and services, but the truth is that it is going with another attempt in the smartphone segment. Apparently Blackberry will put its effort into what it does best, developing the software to provide more corporate functions and greater security to the base Android, and TCL will be in charge of the hardware and marketing.
But enough of the preambles and let's focus on the phone.
The keyboard, a Blackberry hallmark
Blackberry bets again on the nostalgic QWERTY physical keyboard
With this new terminal, it also incorporates some interesting improvements. As new for the brand, the keyboard space bar includes a fingerprint reader. It also recovers the touch function on its physical keyboard, and allows us to scroll, quite practical especially to keep the screen impeccable. Be careful, if you want to use a touch keyboard it will also be available.
Security
The idea is to provide equipment designed primarily for corporate use.
A special emphasis on safety was logically expected. According to Alcatel/TCL representatives, the BlackBerry Mercury's security software is updated in real time to ensure the best protection for your corporate and personal data, allowing it to be on par with any iPhone or Samsung Knox when it comes to protecting data with end-to-end encryption
Android 7.0
The BlackBerry DTEK70, or Mercury, will arrive directly with Android 7.0 Nougat inside.
Together with Nougat we will have system notifications when someone takes photographs or videos without our permission, we will have encryption for photographs and even BlackBerry software to store passwords. Without forgetting Good Work, WatchDox or BBM Protected.
Exterior design
The phone is made of metal with a coating of a rubber-like material and feels good in the hand.
It is equipped with a rough surface on the back, like the brand's latest equipment. They leave no doubt that the Canadian company has put effort into making it a durable terminal, which suggests that it may not be very economical.
Battery
Although not much was shown about the BlackBerry Mercury's battery, it is known that it is not removable.
Judging by its predecessors, it will not be stingy in terms of its MHZ quantity, which guarantees a multi-use smartphone with good autonomy from the beginning and until the end of the day without any problems.
Other components
Screen, processor, memory and camera are still a mystery.
The screen is surprising, and not so much, that it does not have the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio but rather pulling towards a 4:3, clearly to make room for the keyboard without changing the classic dimensions of the device.
It is unknown what processor, memory and camera it uses, but the company's latest models of keyboard equipment opted for top-level hardware, it would be strange to think that this were not the case.
At the bottom a USB type C connector stands out. (reversible).
We'll have to wait until the end of February for more details. Would you buy it?
Updated on: 07/01/2017 00:00:00
