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We’re less than a month away until MWC 2017 begins, and there’s been plenty of chatter around the trade show. Now BlackBerry has announced it will be unveiling its “Mercury” smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard on February 25, ahead of the the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
In a tweet made by BlackBerry, the company has given a glimpse of the device. There’s not much we can tell from the teaser other than the fact that the smartphone will come with a QWERTY keyboard. TCL President Steve Cistulli also put out a teaser tweet for the MWC event, and wrote, “Bringing something distinctly different to #MWC2017 #BlackBerryMobile.”
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At CES, TCL and BlackBerry gave a sneak peek at the upcoming smartphone in a closed press event to limited media houses. The company also released a short 22-second video highlighting the Mercury smartphone’s full QWERTY keyboard, which follows the classic BlackBerry design.
The phone has an aluminium casing on the sides with black antenna bands and a USB Type-C port at the bottom. There are two speaker grilles at the bottom, and the power button along with the volume rockers are placed on the right side of the device. The phone is distinctly BlackBerry in style and design, and looks like a premium device.
Check out the tweet below:
TCL will be manufacturing the device for BlackBerry. There is no official word on the specifications and details on the device, but it is expected to sport a 4.5-inch display and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. Mercury is speculated to feature 4GB RAM, and will be backed by a 3400 mAh battery. The rear of the device will house an 18MP camera, while the front of the device will feature an 8MP sensor.
Also read: TCL-BlackBerry Mercury with QWERTY keyboard to launch at MWC 2017
TCL has signed a deal with BlackBerry and got the license to design, manufacture and distribute smartphones under the BlackBerry brand across the world. The main focus of the company will be to sell devices in upcoming markets like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The Mercury is the last BlackBerry smartphone to be designed by the company itself, and going forward TCL will be responsible for creating devices for the brand. BlackBerry will instead be focusing on software, and enterprise solutions. The company’s last two smartphones DTEK50 and DTEK60 were made with its partner TCL as well.
