latest
Winter sucks for shopping. At least, it does if you're doing it in the traditional sense: driving out in the snow, fighting for parking, and watching the sun set before you're even half done. It's enough to drive someone to ditch the brick-and-mortar life and commit to an online retail existence. As luck would have it, we've spotted a bunch of good deals from some of our favorite online stores, ready to save you a buck or two on mobile tech.
BlackBerry has a niche, and it's not giving it up any time soon. If you want a phone with a keyboard, you'll probably buy one of the TCL-built BlackBerry devices like the new KEY2. However, that phone is pretty spendy at $650. If you don't mind making a few sacrifices in your quest for a keyboard, Best Buy is having a KEYone fire sale.
The BlackBerry KEYone launched a year ago with Android Nougat, and today it still runs Android Nougat. Oh sure, there have been regular security patches over the months, but the lack of an OS update after more than six months of Oreo availability is embarrassing. TCL is taking the first step toward making the OTA happen, though. There's an Oreo beta for the KEYone, but you need an invite.
When it comes to security, Android devices are a mixed bag - to say the least. Few manufacturers make promises about long-term support, and timely security updates are rare. This is understandably a concern for large businesses, which often don't want to worry about security flaws or constantly deploy new devices. For many enterprise customers, the question of which Android phones should be used is difficult to answer.
BlackBerry announced the all-touch Motion three months ago for a number of countries around the world, but today at CES it's finally giving the phone a proper US launch. Starting January 12th, you'll be able to order the Snapdragon 625-powered Motion from Amazon or Best Buy here in America for $449.Featuring IP67 ruggedization, Android 7.1 (Oreo will come in Q2, says BlackBerry), a 5.5" 1080p display, and a 4000mAh battery, the Motion is set to do battle most obviously with Motorola's Z2 Play here in the States. The phone runs a pretty lightly skinned version of Android 7.1 with a good handful of BlackBerry software tweaks, many of which BlackBerry says will be trickling down to the KeyOne.
If you're still nostalgic for the good times when BlackBerry's physical keyboards were all the rage, the last vestige of this dying form factor is the BlackBerry KEYone, which was announced at MWC early this year. Despite its flaws, Jordan found a lot to like in his review of the device so it could be worth a go at a decent price.A $100 saving on the MSRP of $549.99 would do the trick, and that's exactly what Amazon and Best Buy are currently offering. BestBuy has the unlocked and Verizon models, both in silver, for just $449.99. Amazon has the Verizon (CDMA) version or AT&T/T-Mobile (GSM) model for the same price, both in silver as well.The cheapest we've seen it previously is $449.99 from AT&T. For your money you'd be getting a Nougat-rocking midranger with a Snapdragon 625, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of expandable storage. Worth more than that, though, is the chance to tap away on a BlackBerry keyboard once again.Source: BestBuy, Amazon
At launch, Sprint was the only US carrier that sold BlackBerry's KEYone, a unique device with a permanent hardware keyboard as a large chin. That stayed true until yesterday, but now, the phone is also available on AT&T in an exclusive Space Black color for $499.99.
The BlackBerry KEYone has done a pretty good job of filling the keyboard phone niche, however large that might be. And TCL, the device's manufacturer, has even improved the build quality since launch. In the United States, the only carrier offering the KEYone has been Sprint, but AT&T is about to join the QWERTY party.
The KEYone is available as an unlocked phone, and that's probably how most BlackBerry fans will buy it. However, there's a Sprint version, too. Owners of the Sprint version recently reported an aggravating battle with bloatware, which was constantly reinstalling itself on the phone. Sprint has now confirmed this is a bug, and it'll be fixed soon.
Carrier bloatware is always annoying, but Sprint just upped the ante. Sprint is currently the only US carrier selling the KEYone, the latest BlackBerry-branded device manufactured by TCL. Owners of the Sprint KEYone are reporting a huge amount of apps being automatically installed, and they can't be disabled or removed.
Sprint will be the first carrier in the U.S. to get BlackBerry's KEYone, available starting tomorrow
BlackBerry's KEYone officially launched in Canada a couple of months ago. At the original announcement, TCL (who licenses the BB name) said that the U.S. would be getting its own versions of the anachronistic phone in the months to follow. Starting tomorrow, new and current Sprint customers will be the first to pick up the KEYone here in America.
The KEYone is the first QWERTY BlackBerry phone manufactured by TCL. Despite having a great deal of software problems at launch, many owners enjoy simply having a modern keyboard smartphone. However, the original batch of devices were not very durable (to say the least), but BlackBerry and TCL have been working to fix that.
Read update
- BlackBerry has since added far more adhesive to the KEYone's screen, making the screen impossible to take out without breaking it. Jerry's new video shows off the more durable model:
It's becoming something of a tradition for a new phone to be subjected to durability tests on the JerryRigEverything YouTube channel. We've seen phones like the Galaxy S8 and Pixel come through the testing okay, but phones like the Nexus 6P and HTC U Ultra haven't fared so well. Today, it's the BlackBerry KEYone going under the knife/lighter/hands. Despite a strong start, the KEYone doesn't last.
The BlackBerry KEYone is a strange phone. Not just because it has a physical keyboard in 2017, long after that feature has gone out of style, but because it commands a rather high price point for that feature. But if you have been waiting to get a KEYone of your own, you will be able to do so on May 31 (which just arrived on the East Coast).
The KEYone, the latest in the BlackBerry Ltd/TCL collaboration, is a phone that returns to the Canadian brand's iconic roots, for better or for worse. With Nougat and a strong focus on security, the KEYone is aimed at enterprise users and long-time fanatics.
We first saw the BlackBerry KEYone back at MWC in all of its QWERTY candybar glory. Running Nougat, it hearkens back to the heyday of Research in Motion, the Canadian firm behind the iconic phones. TCL is actually the manufacturer behind this somewhat anachronistic device. And if you're one of those people who judges phones based solely on the spec sheet, then you may not be impressed with this one.
BlackBerry has forged a partnership with TCL to push its Android hardware forward. We've seen a few phones come out of this association so far, but they've been recycled Alcatel designs. The KEYone is all new and all BlackBerry. This phone was pre-announced as the Mercury, but now it's official and coming to the US and Canada in "early Q2" and elsewhere shortly thereafter.