Goos3D was started back when I worked in a phone shop. I still remember the days you’d customers bringing in bloody BlackBerrys. What an almighty pain in the arse they were. See, if you were changing a setting and had to reboot, half your day was gone waiting on the thing to restart. With that said, I’m actually rather excited about the new BlackBerry KEYone. Here’s what we know about it and how you can pick up this BlackBerry if you’re living in Ireland.
BlackBerry KEYone design
For a start, the BlackBerry KEYone is a little bit more fun to write about than other phones. It’s actually got some unique features. Gone is the old school BlackBerry operating system. In its place is an Android system. You see, the “we’re too proud for Android” thing is long gone since TCL took over. Far more importantly, the distinctive physical QWERTY keyboard BlackBerry was famous for remains.
Actually, the keyboard is extremely smart. The space bar doubles as a trackpad and each button can be programmed. So you could long-press “n” for Nexar. Predictive text looks very impressive too. You swipe up on the space bar to fire words to the screen.
The KEYone is clearly still aimed at the professional market. The aluminium body looks gorgeous and compliments the classic leather style back. But professional also means performance.
BlackBerry KEYone specs
In terms of specs, the BlackBerry KEYone is up there with other flagships. Sure, it’s aimed at business types, but even suits like selfies these days.
That’s why the KEYone is packing an 8MP selfie camera and a 12MP primary rear camera. Battery-wise BlackBerry has packed in 3,505 mAh which should last you at least two days use. By the way, to charge, you’ll need your USB-C accessories.
Owing to the physical buttons, the screen is a little smaller than other phones on the market – measuring 4.5 inches. Some of the other specs include 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. You can expand storage to an incredible 2TB with a microSD card. You also get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. That’s plenty of bang for your buck.
The best bits of BlackBerry with Android
The reason the KEYone is so exciting is because it’s so different. It’s got that QWERTY keyboard for a start – packed full of features. You also get BlackBerry Hub which is an extremely smart piece of kit. BlackBerry Hub consolidates all your messaging apps into one handy place. You can download BlackBerry Hub and try it out on any smartphone.
Then there’s the classic BlackBerry security factor. There’s a good reason why all Presidents of the United States use BlackBerry. Well, at least until the current President who opts for a bloody Samsung Galaxy S4. We won’t go into the security details, but it’s an extremely secure smartphone powered by DTEK.
How can I get the BlackBerry KEYone in Ireland?
This is where things get a little complicated. The BlackBerry KEYone is unlikely to be available through any of Ireland’s networks. Chances are, you’ll have to buy this in the UK and ship it over to Ireland using a service like Parcel Motel. We’ve run through how to do this for the Google Pixel and will update this article once retailers are confirmed.