All About

BlackBerry Keyone Black Limited Edition

BlackBerry KEYone has been launched in India as an Amazon-exclusive handset, in partnership with manufacturing and distribution partner Optiemus Infracom. The BlackBerry KEYone price in India has been set as Rs. 39,990, and the handset is the last smartphone designed in-house by the company. Its biggest highlight is its hardware QWERTY keyboard, and the phone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system with BlackBerry's own security and productivity software onboard. Another unique feature is the hardware Convenience Key that can be customised for various shortcuts. To recall, the smartphone was first launched at MWC 2017. The company has made some changes to the specifications of the smartphone for India, and the KEYone will be made available in a 4GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage configuration, compared to the 3GB RAM + 32GB inbuilt storage configuration that was launched in international markets. The company is calling this model the BlackBerry KEYone Limited Edition Black. The Indian model also supports dual-SIM cards, and the company says this is the first ever BlackBerry smartphone with dual-SIM card support.

PROS

1.  Decent Battery Backup with Quick Charge 3.0

2. Good Software

3. Decent Camera

4. Ergonomic Design

5. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for screen protection

6. Great Keyboard

7. Stereo speaker

CONS

1.  Thick phone 9.4mm compared to the competition

2. Display only 1080x1620 pixels

3. Mid-Range Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC

4. Expensive Price 39,990

5. Small Screen as Physical Keyboard is also present

6. Unusual aspect ratio 3:2

Specification

The BlackBerry KEYone specifications are mediocre, however, the innards are not the smartphone's highlights. Instead, its keyboard and software features are its main USPs. The dual-SIM BlackBerry KEYone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and sports a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 3:2 aspect ratio (1080x1620 pixels) and a pixel density of 433ppi. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC clocked at up to 2GHz, coupled with 4GB of RAM.

The KEYone camera setup bears a 12-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, EIS, and dual-tone LED flash, apart from the 8-megapixel front camera that sports an f/2.2 aperture and an 84-degree wide-angle lens. As for storage, the BlackBerry KEYone comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 2TB) in a hybrid dual-SIM configuration.

In terms of connectivity, the BlackBerry KEYone supports 4G VoLTE, dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, Bluetooth v4.2, FM radio, USB Type-C (3.1), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sensors on board the smartphone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and a proximity sensor. It is powered by a 3505mAh non-removable battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, said to charge the smartphone from zero to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. It measures 149.3x72.5x9.4mm, and weighs 180 grams.

Camera

While this has never been a matter of discussion, BlackBerry phones have in recent times sported for really good cameras. The KEYone is no exception and sports a 12MP rear camera that is good enough for most users. It can capture subtle colours. and performs reasonably well in low light. The only issue of camera is that the app hides the switch to full manual inside settings and this is easy to miss.

Incidentally, the 8MP front camera is among the better ones. While I would think BlackBerry users will not be that keen on selfies, this is a good feature for them to make device video calls.

Camera Specification

Rear Camera

1.  12MP auto-focus large pixel camera

2. 4K video recording at 30 fps

3. Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF), Fast focus lock

4. HDR 6-element f2.0 lens

5. Dual Tone LED Flash – Enhanced photo colour balance

6. 4x digital zoom

7.  Continuous & touch to focus, face detection, electric image stabilisation, Panorama, Burst, Live Filters Multi-Frame Low Light Enhancement

Front Camera

1.  8MP Fixed-Focus, f2.2

2. 1.125um pixel size

3. 84˚ wide angle/field of view lens

4. Image & video stabilisation

5. 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps

6. Light-up LCD Flash

7.  Wide Selfie Mode (also known as Selfie Panorama)

8. Multi-Frame Low Light Enhancement

Pricing

The smartphone will be available from August 8 exclusively via Amazon India at 39,990. BlackBerry KEYone launch offers include up to 75GB additional data from Vodafone, meant for both prepaid and post-paid subscribers, as well as new and existing subscribers. American Express is also offering up to 4,000 bonus points to credit card members that buy the smartphone. Moreover, in international market phone is priced at $549, €599 with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.

Design

There’s no two ways about it the BlackBerry KEYone is a beast. It doesn’t mess around in this department what you see is what you get, though the BlackBerry KEYone is A LOT better looking in real life. Pictures do not do it justice.

The BlackBerry KEYone itself is a hulking mass of metal, glass and premium-feeling, super tactile keys. It feels like a BlackBerry of old that has been smashed together with a modern phone. Nevertheless, importantly, and for the first time, BlackBerry has got it right.

The BlackBerry KEYone feels like a BlackBerry should its reassuringly heavy, kinda thick and it really does look the business whenever you whip it out.The design will not be for everybody, though I fall very much in the former category. I like that it’s different. I like that it has a keyboard. I also like that it is pretty chunk it feels solid, like it could take a kicking and keep on ticking. I also like that it has a “smart” button on the side, which you can programme to do whatever you like (take note, Samsung). The power/unlock button lives on the left hand side of the handset

Size & Weight

Height 149.3 mm / 5.8 in
Width 72.5 mm / 2.8 in
Depth 9.4 mm / 0.37 in
180g / 6.34 oz

Battery

At least in the initial days, the largish 3505 mAh battery should be able to see you through the day. In fact, this is where the smaller screen size might become an advantage for this phone as it will use lesser power than most of its competitors. It can provide you 16hrs of battery life that is really good these times.

Configuration

3505 mAh (typical) 4.4V non-removable Lithium Ion

battery QC3.0

Enabled 50% charge in 36 minutes

Software and UI

The KEYone is an Android phone. But it is not just any Android phone. The phone comes with a layer of BlackBerry software features that will remind you of the BB OS days, and give you the features that set those phones apart and made them the most productive devices you could buy. The layer of features on the KEYone is not the kind of bloatware you are used to finding on Android devices, it is the stuff that you might actually end up using.

However, the company seems to be really optimistic about BlackBerry messenger which get a bit too much play on the device for my liking. The customisable convenience key on the right, the reimagined BlackBerry hub where all your messages comes and self-assuring (also nostalgic) red blinking LED on top of the phone, and the white on black notifications on the lock screen all add bit of comfort and convenience to this phone.

Let’s not forget that of all Android phones, you can trust a BlackBerry to offer you a little bit extra when it comes to protection and security. The Dtek app keeps giving you a security rating of the phone, based on the apps you have downloaded and the settings you have chosen. And yes, this is something worth paying a premium price for.

Display

The KeyOne have a screen size of 4.5” and comes with crisp and clear full HD IPS LCD display. It works well in sunlight and comes with corning gorilla glass 4 protection which is scratch resistant. In this price range having this quality of display is not a good deal.

Display Configurations

4.5” diagonal

1620 x 1080 IPS LCD

433 PPI

24-bit colour depth

3:2 aspect ratio

Opinion

BlackBerry’s last in-house phone is here and its with keyboard as its trademark of a BB phone. Phone is not for all. It is not for multimedia users who likes to play games or watch videos and movies etc. It is the phone for official purpose made for cooperate world and provide excellent security and performance. Camera performs well under low lights and daylights. Keyboard is fantastic but now a days having physical keyboard in a phone is unusual which can be a backdrop of this phone because there are many users who want like to have a phone with keyboard compromising their screen size. Blackberry says it a flagship but it come with a mid-range processor, which is not good at this price point. You get a lot many other options available in which you can get best in class processor. So, if you are a BlackBerry fan or a cooperate person you can have it as it got all features which you need. However, if you are multimedia lover, play heavy games, and want high-end specs it is not for you at all. I found it bit expensive for this price range.

Liked About phone

1.  Design

2. Camera

3. A button for shortcut like camera or any other apps of your choice.

4. Keyboard

5. Speaker

Disliked About Phone

      1.  Heavy weight

      2. Display(not as per competition)

      3. Price

      4. No Innovation

Ratings: 3/5