Return of the keyboard: BlackBerry, TCL release the KEYone smartphone under partnership
It’s the last phone that BlackBerry worked on internally before turning away from its roots as a smartphone maker last September to focus instead on software and security
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TORONTO — BlackBerry Ltd. enthusiasts hung up on the idea of physical smartphone keyboards can finally get their fingers on the last device designed at least partially in-house by the Waterloo, Ont. company.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer TCL Communication released the long-awaited BlackBerry smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Saturday. Called the BlackBerry KEYone, the Android-operated device featuring the beloved QWERTY keyboard is the first launched under TCL’s licensing agreement with BlackBerry to use its brand.
It’s the last phone that BlackBerry worked on internally before turning away from its roots as a smartphone maker last September to focus instead on software and security. Going forward, BlackBerry will license its brand and software to companies such as TCL that will design, manufacture and market devices. It has also inked deals with Indonesia’s BB Merah Putih and India’s Optiemus Infracom Ltd.
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