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BlackBerry’s latest Android smartphone, the BlackBerry KEYone, has made it through the TENAA’s certification tests. This likely means that the device will be launched soon in China. Based on the TENAA’s listing, the BlackBerry KEYone model that will be sold in China will support all local networks maintained by Chinese carriers; support for TD-LTE networks in addition to the more commonly used LTE-FDD protocol is all part of the package. While both the international and US versions of the device can connect to TD-LTE networks, this feature is far more important for the Chinese market as the country’s carriers predominantly use TD-LTE for its mobile data services. Aside from support for LTE connectivity, the device can also connect to 2G and 3G networks when necessary, its listing confirms.
Based on the TENAA certification images of the BlackBerry KEYone, it seems that there is no substantial difference in terms of the external hardware of this device and its international variant. The phone seemingly retained its key features, including the physical keyboard. Among the functionalities boasted by the keyboard is the ability to assign shortcuts to each of its keys and use gestures for swipe input. Another interesting feature is the device’s 4.5-inch display which has a unique aspect ratio of 3:2. The display’s image format is essentially a compromise needed to fit a physical keyboard into the relatively small frame of the phone. While this solution may not be specifically aimed at content consumption and gaming, it is perfectly much suitable for a productivity-focused device, BlackBerry previously claimed. Going into the internals of the device, the smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 625 processor from Qualcomm that’s said to be extremely energy-efficient and should allow the KEYone to go through a lot of activities on a single charge.
The BlackBerry KEYone has been popular in a number of markets where it is already available, with its manufacturer TCL reportedly even having problems fulfilling the orders placed for the device. It has also managed to break some pre-order records for BlackBerry-branded smartphones in Canada, though it remains to be seen how the device ends up performing on a global level in the medium term.
