The Android-powered BlackBerry Priv is now available to pre-order in the UK, but for smartphone fans hoping to combine the old and new, it isn’t going to come cheap.
Retailer Carphone Warehouse (via 9to5Google) is promising November 6 delivery for the phone, which has an eye-watering SIM-free cost of £579.
That puts the Priv, which features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard beneath a 5.4-inch touchscreen, into the pricing-bracket of top Android handsets from Samsung and HTC.
Even those taking the device on contract will need to stump up £59.99 up-front, with tariffs starting at £39.99 a month. If you want to pay nothing for the phone, it’ll be £49.99 a month, while £79.99 a month will give users unlimited data.
See also: Watch John Chen’s awkward hands on with the Priv
The Carpohone Warehouse listing cites a 2560 x 1440 (540ppi) display, a hexacore Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage that can be expanded to 2TB.
It’ll also have an 18-megapixel camera with a dual LED flash, along with a 3410mAh battery and Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
The Priv looks like it’ll be one of the last throws of the dice for the former smartphone pioneer. The company has hinted it may get out of the hardware trade within a year, in order to focus on providing its security platform as a service.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
