BlackBerry Priv will be available on Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile
BlackBerry’s first-ever Android smartphone will now be available on three major US carriers including Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. The company has been consistently expanding the smartphones’ availability since its launch in November. AT&T was the first US carrier to launch the new Android device in the United States.
On Wednesday, BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 that the Android-based smartphone with a sliding keyboard will be additionally available on Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile in the US.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere also reconfirmed the news on Twitter. Verizon will start selling the device by the end of March whereas T-Mobile will put up the smartphone on sale from Jan. 26. Sprint is yet to announce the date of availability. The BlackBerry Priv is also available on Rogers, Bell, and TELUS.
In addition to the expansion plans in the US, BlackBerry also announced that users in The Netherlands, Italy and Spain can now purchase the smartphone from BlackBerry's official website ShopBlackBerry. Moreover, the device will also be available on Vodafone UK. Currently BlackBerry Priv is available in the US, the UK, Canada and Germany.
The BlackBerry Priv was launched in November with Android 5.0 Lollipop on board. At the CES 2016, Ron Louks , president of devices, BlackBerry, assured that the Android 6.0 Marshmallow will be rolled out to the device before the end of the first quarter of 2016, reports Android Authority.
What makes Priv unique from any other smartphone is its sliding keyboard. It provides an actual physical keyboard to the user. But the device also sports a 5.4-inch Quad HD screen which has a touch keyboard.
Running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, the device is shipped with a massive 3,410 mAh battery to keep the lights on. The Priv has an 18 megapixel primary camera with dual flash capabilities.