BlackBerry CEO Confirms Company’s Plan to Launch Two Mid-Range Smartphones This Year

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Published 8 Apr 2016

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Blackberry Priv

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has revealed in an interview that the Canadian smartphone company will focus on releasing two new mid-range smartphones this year. The executive, however, did not reveal when the company plans on launching them this year.

One of the mid-range smartphones from the company will feature a physical QWERTY keyboard —  a rarity in today’s smartphones, while the other will sport a regular touchscreen display. Chen did not reveal any other information about the two handsets, except that it will be priced around $300-400.

BlackBerry launched its first Android running smartphone last year, the Priv. While a decent offering, the handset’s sale was marred by its high price and limited availability. Chen even admitted this in the interview and said that the handset “was too high-end a product.” No wonder BlackBerry slashed the prices of the handset by $50 in the United States earlier this week, though its too little too late in my opinion.

BlackBerry announced a Marshmallow beta program for the Priv earlier this week where it invited Priv owners to test the upcoming Marshmallow update on their handset. The final release of Marshmallow for the Priv is scheduled to be released in May.

Are you looking forward to a mid-range smartphone from BlackBerry?

[Via The National]