BlackBerry CEO confirms the QWERTY keyboard isn’t going anywhere

BlackBerry has been getting a lot of attention today with the somewhat old news (but now official) that BlackBerry will no longer develop or design smartphones to run on its BlackBerry-skinned version of Android. The short story is that the Canadian ex-phone maker will outsource phones from other manufacturers, namely, TCL (Alcatel).

In a recent video interview between BNN and CEO John Chen, confirmation arises that BlackBerry plans to release another smartphone with the legendary BlackBerry keyboard sometime in the next couple of years.

The latest unannounced BlackBerry is called the DTEK60 and is physically identical to an Alcatel IDOL 4S, which is made by TCL. It’s not known which phone maker will actually build the next BlackBerry with a QWERTY keyboard, but based on current smartphones, there aren’t really any mainstream smartphones (Other than the BlackBerry Priv) that offer a full, physical QWERTY keyboard.

It’s a bit funny because just a few years ago, many smartphone users were reluctant to make the switch to full touchscreen. BlackBerry hopes it can cater to this niche of smartphone users who still prefer the satisfying and tactile feel of a real physical keyboard. #bringbackthekeyboard.

Source | Via