Canadian telecom venture Blackberry is set to launch its introductory Android smartphone flagship called Priv in India towards the end of January.
The company has already sent out invitations for the release event. BlackBerry Priv launched at an exclusive event on January 28 in the capital of India, New Delhi.
India is a huge smartphone market. Indian users have waited with a bated breath for Blackberry tp launch its premium android handset in the country.
However, there is a catch. Blackberry Priv will be available for purchase at Rs. 62,990. The figure roughly sums up to nearly $923 (183,677 Naira). This is however cheaper than the Priv current 218,360 Naira ($1,097) price on Jumia Nigeria (Check here). So, Nigerians even seem to be getting a worse deal.
Considering the fact that in the US, the handset comes with a price tag of $699, whereas in Europe it flaunts a price of €779, the price in Indian market is way too steep. Blackberry claims that Indian users have always loved the handsets produced by the company and there is a market for high-end devices.
While Blackberry might be right in its argument, the fact remains that the high-end market is mostly dominated by iPhone users. Usually, the users tending to opt for android are the ones who are unwilling to pay the sky high prices of Apple devices.
This news of the Indian launch came in soon after Priv was launched in France. Earlier, the handset docked in some other European markets including Italy, Spain and Netherlands.
BlackBerry Priv features 5.4-inches capacitive AMOLED display with 1440×2560p and 540ppi. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla glass 4. The handset is driven by MSM8992 Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core processor by Qualcomm along with Adreno 418 GPU for graphics.
BlackBerry Priv includes a 3410mAh non-removable Lithium Ion battery with quick charge and wireless charging capabilities. The handset also sports 3GB of RAM along with 32GB Flash memory expandable up to 2TB through microSD card slot.
In terms of camera, BlackBerry Priv features an 18MP auto-focus rear shooter with PDAF and OIS support and a 2MP front-facing camera with 720p HD video capture support.
The smartphone comes with a hidden keyboard that features a smart slide technology and runs Android OS.