First official images of the BlackBerry Priv are released into the wild

There’s been so much Google news lately that this piece of news kind of slipped past us, until now. The BlackBerry Priv, or as some are calling it, PRIV by BlackBerry, was officially announced last week and has been getting a fair amount of press since then – most notably, a mildly awkward interview featuring the device and BlackBerry CEO John Chen. To further its legend before an actual announcement event, some official images of the BlackBerry Priv surfaced and show us more of the device that we’ve all seen so much of already:

Although the side view photos actually show us very little, it does highlight how thin the device is despite having a physical keyboard tucked inside it. While much of the talk has been about the physical hardware of the Priv, one of the most important things about the device is its emphasis on privacy (hence the name) and what it means for Android in the commercial sector, a sector that Android has traditionally struggled to break into despite being the most populous operating system on the planet. We’re expecting to see the Priv announced in November, but we expect we’ll be seeing a few more details between now and then.

What do you think about these official images of the BlackBerry Priv? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: BlackBerry via Phone Arena

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BlackBerry shares the first Priv official images

BlackBerry didn’t have to bother with a colossal announcement or fancy teasers to get people’s attention. Their upcoming phone is pretty much selling itself, as it answers to features people have been requesting for many years. It’s really the most casual launch we have seen in a long time, yet people are dying to get their hands all over the BlackBerry Priv!

The Priv is pretty much official by now, but BlackBerry has been taking its sweet time to share more about it. Today we are taking a look at the very first legit images coming from the popular manufacturer. It’s definitely nothing we haven’t seen before, but these images are special in that they come straight from the source.

BlackBery is giving us a look at the Priv from multiple angles. Two of them show the smartphone’s profile, with the keyboard both hidden and pulled out. The third image (above) showcases the phone as if it was laying on a flat surface.

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Why is the BlackBery Priv such a titanic sensation? Wasn’t the company dying? It sure was, but maybe this was something they really needed to do to rise afloat. We have been begging for a BlackBerry Android phone with a nice keyboard, and the fact that it’s finally coming is a huge deal.

BlackBerry claims the Priv’s main lure is its privacy, but I doubt that’s the case for people outside the enterprise market. It’s their build quality and keyboards that people really love. The Priv has both, as well as Android in its guts; that is what really makes it an enticing handset.

So there you have it, guys. Enjoy the images and take a look at our BlackBerry Priv rumor roundup to learn more about the upcoming handset. Are you thinking of getting a BlackBerry Priv?

BlackBerry CEO John Chen stumbles through a demo of the BlackBerry Priv

When you’re the CEO of a company, you’re probably pretty busy, so you can’t exactly be expected to know all the nuances of your product at the drop of a hat (despite the fact that some CEOs do). Unfortunately, that was made painfully obvious during BlackBerry CEO John Chen’s demo of the BlackBerry Priv, BlackBerry’s first Android-powered smartphone, as he stumbled through showing off some of the Priv’s features. Most notably, the Priv was extremely slow to react when first interacted with and Chrome took quite awhile to start up as well. Check out the whole demo below:

https://bmplayer-a.akamaihd.net/shareable/embedssl.html?dc=bnn_web&cid=713580&col=766&w=480&h=270&pl=0&plh=0&adSite=ctv.bnn&adZone=shows/thedisruptors&omniAcct=ctvgmtvebnndesktop,ctvgmglobal&section=video%20-%20hub&site=bnn&shareUrl=&v7=player&v8=&v9=&v10=It also doesn’t help the credentials of your device when you say things like “all the latest Qualcomm specs, and the cameras, and all that good stuff”. We do have to cut Chen some slack as this will be his company’s first Android device, but you’d think he would have been briefed on how to at least use the phone before an interview. Despite this rather awkward showing of the Priv, we’re still very interested to see what the device has to offer when in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing – presumably when the device actually launches this year.

What do you think about the BlackBerry Priv? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: BNN via Droid-life

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Blackberry CEO John Chen awkwardly showcases the Blackberry Priv

Not too long after we brought you some exclusive images of the BlackBerry Priv (aka Venice), the company officially confirmed that its Android-powered smartphone would be launching by the year’s end. To get consumers excited about the device before its official launch, BlackBerry CEO John Chen went on camera with Canadian news outlet BNN to showcase the new smartphone… only it seemed like Chen only had a passing familiarity with the device. 

The first thing the interviewer asks is to see the slide-out physical keyboard, which is the Priv’s spotlight feature. Chen says he’s going to hold off on showing that until the end, because it’s the big reveal. The interviewer seems fine with this, so Chen jumps into a spec rundown as smooth and graceful as middle-schooler belly-flopping off the high dive.

See also: In his own words: BlackBerry CEO John Chen explains why his company’s Priv is all about Android74362

“It runs Google,” says Chen, meaning that the Priv runs the Android operating system (which is at least a little better than saying “the Google”). He points out the curved screen which is… curved. He shows off the device’s touchscreen capability. He boasts of its cameras and “all that good stuff.” He almost pulls up Chrome successfully.

Eventually, Chen seems to realize he should have stuck with shock and awe and left the spec work to someone from the design department. He snaps out the keyboard and…

Well, maybe it speaks to the elegance of the hardware that, even in the midst of this cringe-fest, the keyboard still comes across as slick as hell and damn impressive. The physical keyboard doubles as a touch mouse (which I have my doubts about, but which looks cool nonetheless) and can be snapped in and out of the bottom of the phone.

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Blackberry hopes the Priv will draw back all those users who were addicted to physical keyboards for years but who eventually acquiesced to touch keyboards once phones like the Droid 4 slipped out of existence. Whether or not this will work for the one-time mobile giant is yet to be determined, but so far the Priv looks pretty smooth even in the most un-smooth of hands.