The new BlackBerry-branded smartphone is set to make a comeback by mid of 2021 in North America and Europe. This time, the gadget will be supported by 5G connectivity together with a physical keyboard and an enterprise-level security, two features that made it the device of choice in corporate America back in 2000. The Texas-based company, OnwardMobility has signed an agreement with BlackBerry and FIH Mobile Unlimited to make the smartphone available by 2021.
Techradar.com: The upcoming QWERTY BlackBerry 5G smartphone might have one killer feature
According to Anton Shilov of Techradar, BlackBerry, FIH Mobile, and OnwardMobility have signed an agreement to deliver a new BlackBerry-branded smartphone in the first half of 2021.
The new handset will support 5G connectivity, come equipped with a physical keyboard, and provide class-leading security, a unique combination of features for governments and enterprises.
Under the terms of the agreement, OnwardMobility will plan and sell the upcoming 5G BlackBerry smartphone, FIH Mobile will engineer and produce the device, whereas BlackBerry will provide enterprise and government level security technologies for the upcoming handset. The product will be available in North America and Europe, so for other markets BlackBerry might choose another manufacturing partners.
T3.com: BlackBerry is back from the dead – 5G and QWERTY keyboard confirmed!
In a similar report, T3.com announced that BlackBerry is all set to come back from the dead for a surprise second time, with OnwardMobility picking up the baton from TCL, which ended its licencing agreement earlier this year.
Although there’s not much information released about the handsets yet, except that they’ll be 5G connected, manufactured by Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile Limited and coming to North American and European markets by mid 2021. Plus, as people might expect, OnwardMobility is going big on the two things that people associate with the BlackBerry branding: security and that physical keyboard.
