NEW LOW COST BLACKBERRY REVEALED

There was a time when a Blackberry was one of the most expensive and safest smartphones on the market, now TCL has released at IFA 2018 in Berlin a band new BlackBerry KEY2 LE model that’s only $699 and has bigger keys on the popular keyboard.

This newest addition to the BlackBerry KEY series is available in three colour variants – Slate, Champagne and Atomic which is a big step up from the traditional black.

Sleek looking it includes minimised screen bezels and redesigned chassis for a more modern look and feel.

It also comes with the recently introduced Speed Key for a more customised universal shortcut experience, and in addition to its Android operating system, includes support for popular features like the Google Assistant, Google Lens and Google Pay.

In Australia, the 64GB storage variant will sell for $699.

Alain Lejeune, Senior Vice President, TCL Communication & President, BlackBerry Mobile claims that the new Blackberry Key 2 “Brings a fresh new personality to TCL Communication’s BlackBerry KEY2 portfolio that includes all the security features that make BlackBerry phones the world’s most secure Android smartphones,”.

Big new improvements include a lightweight polycarbonate frame and a newly designed soft textured back that provides better in-hand grip to prevent drops.

It also includes a Full-HD, 2.5D display and is both thinner and lighter and boasts a redesigned keyboard with keys that are nearly 10 percent larger than those featured on the BlackBerry KEYone.

The physical keyboard includes a Speed Key that enables shortcut access to a number of functions on your device at any time, without having to return to the home screen or search in an app folder to access the apps, contacts and functions you use and communicate with most.

The Speed Key is complimented by 52 customisable shortcuts, so you can program each key to instantly bring up the contacts and apps you use most.

A dual rear camera (13MP+5MP) with great new capture experiences that include Portrait mode is also featured on the BlackBerry KEY2 LE. This is complemented by an 8MP front camera that comes with LCD flash and new capture modes like Wide Selfie (selfie panorama) and Face Beauty, which offers new selfie capture enhancements.

You can also learn more about the world around you with Google Lens™ camera integration, which can help you quickly access more information on landmarks, buildings, books and more simply by pointing your camera at the object.

There is also a Locker feature that allow you to manage what information is shared in the cloud, like your photos and documents.

Locker provides a personal space on the device where you can store apps you want to keep private along with sensitive documents and photos.

Firefox Focus, the privacy browser by Mozilla, is also included so you can avoid trackers and automatically delete your browsing session when the app is closed.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE comes with 4GB of memory and in both 32GB and 64GB storage variants – with both offering expandable storage MicroSD support.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor and an efficient battery that offers up to 22 hours of mixed use to get you through the busiest of days and often into the next day.

In addition, the BlackBerry KEY2 LE features Qualcomm Quick Charge® 3.0, enabling up to a 50 percent charge in about 36 minutes.