BlackBerry is partnering with Alcatel to launch a trio of Android smartphones codenamed after three chemical elements, namely Neon, Argon, and Mercury, according to a report from VentureBeat. While the company’s first Android smartphone may not exactly be a bestseller, it seems that Blackberry is once again looking to venture into similar territory with these three new Android handsets. According to the report, the company will be launching one device per quarter for the next three quarters. Nicknamed ‘Neon’ and said to be the first of the devices is reported to be a mid-range handset with an Aluminium frame and a soft-coated plastic back. Targeted at both the enterprise and consumer markets, it will be competitively priced and will be available in July or August. It will feature a 1080p 5.2-inch touchscreen powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor. It will have no physical keyboard. It will come with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of in-built storage. It will have a 2,610mAh battery with support for QuickCharge 2.0. It has 13MP rear camera and will be complemented by an 8MP front facing camera. The second codenamed ‘Argon’ is scheduled for release in October. It’s the most powerful of the bunch with a 5.5 inch QHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 3,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 technology, 21MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing shooter, a fingerprint reader, and USB Type-C connector.
Lastly, ‘Mercury’ will be the only device to sport a touchscreen as well as a physical QWERTY keyboard; which cannot be concealed. This handset will be available for purchase some time in Q1 2017; however, the targeted market has not yet been disclosed. It is a full aluminium device and will follow a candybar form factor, not a slider like the Priv. It has very modest specs including a 4.5″ full HD display in 3:2 aspect ratio (to accommodate for that keyboard on the bottom), Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of in-built storage. There is an 18MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing shooter, and 3,400mAh battery. With the BlackBerry Priv not doing well primarily due to its premium pricing, it will be quite interesting to see how BlackBerry markets its upcoming devices. These aforementioned three smartphones are rumored to be priced competitively to try and save BlackBerry’s relevance as a hardware manufacturer.
