For anyone who ever owned a BlackBerry handset and were longing to relive those days, but on the Android operating system, then it looks like today is the day. At least if you are an AT&T customer. BlackBerry’s latest handset, the BlackBerry PRIV is finally available to buy without the need for a pre-order. As typical of a device availability finally opening up, some of the big carriers in the U.S. are starting to make their intentions known. Earlier today, AT&T did finally announce that they have opened up sales of the PRIV on their network, with prices starting from $249.99 on a two-year contract or $24.67 per month on an installment plan.
Now, the latest coming in is that the PRIV will also be available to Verizon customers. However, unlike AT&T, Verizon are keeping details of the PRIV a little closer to their chest, as they have not confirmed any details on pricing or availability. In fact, the confirmation of the PRIV’s arrival on Verizon has simply come from a tweet sent out by the carrier detailing that it is indeed coming. More specifically, “Coming soon“. As such, besides the confirmation there are no further details at the moment. For those wondering if T-Mobile will also be announcing that they will be carrying the PRIV soon, then this also seems quite likely. Especially considering a tweet came through yesterday confirming that the PRIV is compatible with T-Mobile’s bands including Band 12 and supports WiFi calling.
If you need a reminder on what is on offer with the BlackBerry PRIV, then besides the slide-out QWERTY keyboard that it includes, the PRIV also comes sporting a 5.4-inch display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution. Inside, the PRIV comes loaded with 3GB RAM and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core processor. Storage is set at 32GB and there is the option to expand thanks to the inclusion of a microSD card slot. Cameras on offer consists of an 18-megapixel rear camera, which is coupled with a 2-megapixel front facing camera. The PRIV comes powered by a 3,410 mAh battery and comes running on Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) out of the box.
