Slider-Phone 'BlackBerry Venice' Headed For AT&T: Release Date Likely In November

BlackBerry is reportedly working on a flagship device named “Venice.” Not long ago, the Canadian tech giant showcased the upcoming device at the Mobile World Congress 2015 event, notes N4BB. During the event, this handset was apparently introduced as the “BlackBerry 10 Slider.” In the meantime, reports say, the BlackBerry Venice release date is rumoured to be set for November. However, now, a new leak has given away key details about the handset.

According to Evan Blass of @evleaks fame, the BlackBerry Venice is headed to AT&T. However, he did not mention the possible release date. The stand out feature of the smartphone however is that, this high-end slider handset will reportedly flaunt a hardware QWERTY keyboard, notes Phone Arena.

As far as the key BlackBerry Venice specifications go, the device will reportedly come with a 5.4-inch Quad HD display and 1,440 x 2,560 pixels screen resolution. Under the hood, the handset will be powered by a hexa-core (Qualcomm Snapdragon 808) processor. To top it off, the phone will apparently be curved on the edges, similar to the dual-edge display seen in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Plus, the handset will be backed by a good 3 GB of RAM configuration.

When it comes to camera specification, the BlackBerry Venice will apparently sport a phenomenal 18 MP rear-facing sensor, in addition to a gracious 5 MP front-facing snapper for selfies. On the software end, the device will run on Android OS. For the first time in the history of BlackBerry, the company is reportedly trying Google’s Android OS instead of the synonymous BlackBerry 10.3 OS.

As it turns out, in addition to the BlackBerry Venice, the tech giant is also working on a low-end, entry-level handset. This device has apparently been named BlackBerry Prague and it will share the design features of the budget-friendly BlackBerry Z3. Moreover, the BlackBerry Prague release date is believed to be in August, says Phone Arena. It is worth reminding that, BlackBerry CEO John Chen acknowledged at a press conference that, the Canadian tech giant will release Android based devices if it could make Google’s OS "secure enough." Nonetheless, reader should note that, the Canadian tech titan has not confirmed the BlackBerry Venice specifications or release date thus far.

In the meantime, interested readers can check out the tweet sent by credible tipster Evan Blass confirming AT&T as the network provider:

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: p.rathinavel@ibtimes.com.au.