For those of you that were tempted to purchase one of these BlackBerry models to try them, but thought they were too expensive – you get a break from now until July 12. The BlackBerry PRIV is available for a CAD $150 price cut, making your final cost ‘only’ $749. The BlackBerry Passport in Black or White is reduced by CAD $110 and the Silver Edition is reduced by CAD $100, making their final prices $489 and $550 respectively.
The BlackBerry Passport is an interesting device that won the reddot award in 2015 for “the best of the best of innovative design,” that challenged the smartphone status quo with its squared off look, and a 1440 x 1440 square touchscreen and touch-enabled keyboard. BlackBerry did this at a time when the last thing they needed was to veer from the status quo – they needed a smartphone to compete with the status quo. Even the processors used were not quite up-to-date, but coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable memory, it was no slouch either – however sales were dismal when compared to what BlackBerry needed to get them back in the running.
The BlackBerry PRIV is the first BlackBerry to use Android – advertising it as the smartphone with the security of a BlackBerry and the full ecosystem of Android and all of its Apps. The 5.4-inch dual-curved display (much like the S7 Edge), Snapdragon 808 hexacore processor, and decent sized 3450mAh battery seemed like a sure winner, but sales were not what BlackBerry was hoping for – many sighted the high-price, small physical keyboard, and less than stellar build quality.
The BlackBerry PRIV was first spotted running Android 6.0 Marshmallow in March on this year and has now been officially updated with the new operating system. This new upgrade will now add even more security to the BB PRIV, and battery saving items like DOZE, and the improved Google Now on Tap. This special purchase will give you the opportunity to try Android Marshmallow on a BlackBerry. If you live in Canada and want to support BlackBerry, but thought the pricing was too expensive, this is your chance to test drive a BlackBerry – but sale pricing is only good through July 12.