The BlackBerry PRIV was just the beginning. BlackBerry is working on two Android handsets for 2016
BlackBerry CEO John Chen previously confirmed that the company would be creating two new Android-based smartphones inside 2016, following on from last year's debut Android BlackBerry phone, the BlackBerry Priv.
John Chen has been pretty upfront about his company’s handset division. When asked about the PRIV sales - pegged at 600,000 since launch - Chen said: “So far, so Good”. This is fair enough in some respects, the handset only launched in November after all, so hasn't had a full year of trading on the market, but with that said most flagships see their highest rate of sales immediately after launch and then it trails off steadily after that - in other words we don't expect things to pick up massively.
Chen has said in interviews that although that flagship was relatively well-received, he believed that by aiming for the premium segment in terms of specs and pricing the firm may have shot itself in the foot somewhat with its core demographic; businesses looking to buy in bulk for their employees, something which sits far more happily in the mid-range segment and which could have lead to much better sales figures. That means the new handsets this year are unlikely to be top-flight phones.
A batch of images and details emerged via Chinese sources for two handsets codenamed the "Hamburg" and "Rome", however, it has since come to our attention that there's been some nefarious stuff going on. According to a report from CrackBerry the Chinese source that leaked these renders acquired them (and re-watermarked them as their own) from Dylan Habkirk, a contributor on the CrackBerry forums who has insider knowledge of BlackBerry. Habkirk rendered these images based on his own information, in the case of the Hamburg some "internal device sketches" he has seen, and in the case of the Rome his own hands-on time with a prototype. This means of course that these renders have not come from inside BlackBerry, and that the designs are not final, so while it does debunk the original leak to an extent, the revelations still don't rule out that they exist and are in development in some way or another, even if only a sketch and even if they never see the light of day. Interestingly, accoding to Habkirk's comments on the incident (which we'd urge you to read in full), the Rome is actually the previously rumoured and leaked BlackBerry Vienna, it appears it's just in a later stage of development.
"To make things clear, these renderings are not leaked by any means," said Habkirk, "They are replications of device plans and / or prototype units that I have seen in person. Not to be mistaken for a truly leaked image, like when we shared the first image of the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition, originally leaked as "Oslo"."
On the subject of the Hamburg, he said, "I've never actually seen this device in person. In fact, I can't find a source to substantiate any specifications for this device (which I originally was told would make it out before the Rome). I did however come across internal device sketches for the handset - which largely copies the Z30 form factor. These internal images are in which I based the renders for the Hamburg. Clarifying more over, the codename Hamburg may not be as accurate as the Rome's in terms of existence."
"As for the Rome, it's a device I've actually had the pleasure of seeing in person on a few occasions here in Waterloo. Again, a device we saw first leaked by CrackBerry months ago, known then as the BlackBerry Vienna. Since then, the device has undergone some major refinements. One of the units I was shown, had some biometrics under the hood."
"Apparently, the Rome has internal specs that are like that of the Priv or otherwise the same. The screen may feature a dual curved edge as well," said Habkirk, adding that it will also feature a "special" hardware button on the front, a front-facing 8MP camera and a possible price as high as $500 USD. He also said the handset may or may not launch but could arrive in September and described the display as "crisp" although he did not have resolution figures or other screen details.
Previously BlackBerry codenamed the Priv as the "Venice", so it's in keeping with the codename convention for major world cities. Of course as with the Venice hitting the market as the Priv (frankly we would have preferred Venice) these are working codenames and unlikely to be attached to the final products when they land.
Chen had made comments earlier in the year that one of the two phones launched in 2016 would feature a keyboard, while the other would be touch-only; from the images we see here it appears the Hamburg is the touch-only handset while the Rome has a physical QWERTY keyboard.
The Rome's keyboard is only partially visible, and it's not clear if we're dealing with a fixed keyboard in the old BlackBerry Bold or BlackBerry Passport style or if it is a slide-out panel like the BlackBerry Priv, though if we're talking about keeping the price lower then a simpler setup seems more likely.
The image of the Hamburg also gives us the dimensions of the phone at 146mm x 78mm, but there's no indication of thickness or weight just yet, and we can see what looks like a metal build and a large punched speaker grille spanning the whole bottom front panel. The Rome also looks like a metal build with a smaller punched grille at the top.
True to that mid-range rumour, the sources suggest the Hamburg will appear in the second half of 2016 with a price tag of $400 (about £275). There is no information on the Rome's price or release bracket, and no specs for either device just yet. We'll keep you posted as we hear more
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