Keyone blackberry link4/1/2023 The SVP of Product, Pam Norris (Opens in a new window) was Sonim's VP of product management before moving to Huawei.Devices running BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier software, BlackBerry 10 software, and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function. The EVP of sales was Sonim's CMO for three years. Jeff Pon (Opens in a new window), the SVP of operations, was at Sonim for 11 years. The company's key product staff largely seems to have ties to Sonim. The HMD phones are good ones, so that bodes well. FIH is owned by Foxconn and also makes HMD's Nokia-branded phones. The company is based in Austin, and it's using FIH to make the phones. Franklin's background (Opens in a new window) is in business software, and according to his LinkedIn, he's had roles in eight companies in the past seven years. I'm a little concerned about OnwardMobility because the CEO doesn't have a mainstream mobile pedigree. "It's paramount to me that … we have a great experience and a great feel both for the tactility of the keyboard, and how the keys respond and feel." Who Are These People? "To me, the keyboard is one of those things where your brain subconsciously picks up on very minute differences between devices," he said. Hands On: BlackBerry Unveils the More Affordable Key2 LE In terms of the keyboard, he said the classic Bold 9900 was his favorite BlackBerry. With Google controlling so much of Android and being a giant data vacuum, I asked Franklin about whether his phone could protect users against Google, but he didn't bite he said more details would come out later. You don't need a huge IT department to benefit from our features." "Some of these features and functionalities have not been available to consumers in the past. "Our goal really is to enable security as seamlessly as possible," Franklin said. He's working with US carriers to sell it. It will be "competitively priced." It will have both sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave 5G, "across carriers and across carrier bands." It will have a "top-end camera" and run Android apps, plus BlackBerry's security software. The phone will be a "global flagship" running Android. (There's a UK company selling a keyboarded phone called the Fxtec Pro1, but it appears to be massively backordered.)įranklin wouldn't tell me much about the new BlackBerry's design or specs, but he gave some hints. TCL was the last company selling QWERTY-keyboarded devices through carriers without them, the only keyboarded smartphone you can get in the US right now is the unlocked Unihertz Titan. The new BlackBerry fills a niche that isn't being served by any other manufacturer on US carrier shelves right now. The team really rallied around the idea of the most secure phone, and we presented this vision to BlackBerry," he said. I saw a growing need for security and productivity in the mobile space, especially enterprises and governments who care a ton about security without compromising productivity. "I've always been an avid BlackBerry fan. That left BlackBerry looking for a North American partner, and Franklin's OnwardMobility stepped up. TCL said in February that it would end sales of its BlackBerry-branded phones this August. In 2016, BlackBerry-now an enterprise software company-licensed its name and IP to TCL to make a string of BlackBerry-branded Android phones including the KeyOne, Key2 and Key2 LE (shown above), which were decent devices but didn't make a huge impact on the market. The keyboarded phones were popular through the early '00s both for critical business and for message-crazy teens, but the company foundered on the switch to finger-friendly touch-screen interfaces and easy-to-use app stores after 2010. "We really see a need for a 5G BlackBerry, Android smartphone with a physical keyboard and being a flagship device," said Peter Franklin, CEO of OnwardMobility.īlackBerry is a powerful brand with a rocky legacy. Today, a new company called OnwardMobility says it has made a deal with the BlackBerry software company to use its name and intellectual property to create a new keyboarded Android smartphone, coming to the US and Europe in 2021.
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