CES 2017: The BlackBerry "Mercury" with physical keyboard, made by TCL may not be available in India

At CES 2017 in Las Vegas, TCL offered attendees a first look at a new BlackBerry device with a physical qwerty keyboard. The device has been designed with security, productivity and reliability in mind. The device will be Android based, and TCL claims that it will be the most secure Android device on the market. BlackBerry had previously claimed that the DTEK50 was the world’s most secure Android smartphone.

The device will be the first BlackBerry smartphone made entirely by TCL. The previous DTEK50 was made in collaboration with BlackBerry. The device is durable, uses premium materials, and is aimed at professionals and business users. Apart from the signature BlackBerry keyboard, the smartphone will also have other familiar BlackBerry applications, including the Hub+. The physical keyboard is touch sensitive, and the glossy finish on the keys mimic the appearance of glass.

Nicolas Zibell, Chief Executive Officer of TCL Communication, said “At TCL Communication, we are committed to creating the best BlackBerry products for consumers and enterprise users. Together with BlackBerry’s smartphone software platform, this partnership will create the most secure Android products.”

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The device does not have an official name as yet. TCL says the name of the device, pricing, availability and other final details will be disclosed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2017. However, leaks of the device and rumours suggest that the device is code named “Mercury.”  The screen is apparently a 4.5-inch display in a 3:2 ratio. The device is rumoured to have a 2GHz Qualcomm processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Both the front and back cameras can capture 18MP resolution images.

TCL has acquired the global rights to the BlackBerry brand and the software . It is a long-term agreement, and the Mercury device is the first device made as part of the agreement. BlackBerry had previously outsourced the manufacture of the DTEK smartphones to TCL. The DTEK smartphones are believed to be the last BlackBerry devices to be made by BlackBerry. TCL also makes phones for Alcatel. The Mercury device may not be available in India because the license agreement does not cover India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia, some of the biggest markets for BlackBerry devices.

There are two BlackBerry devices available in the Indian market as of now. DTEK50 is available in India for Rs 21,990 and the DTEK60 is priced at Rs 46,990.