(Pocket-lint) - Since we've not seen a caller BlackBerry telephone successful over 3 years, and since BlackBerry switched disconnected its services for bully this week, it would beryllium casual to presume that BlackBerry - arsenic a telephone marque - is dead.
That is not the case, according to OnwardMobility, the institution that picked up the license to nutrient BlackBerry phones successful 2020.
In a blog post, the institution has reiterated its tendency to motorboat a 5G BlackBerry phone, adjacent though it is present a importantly delayed launch.
OnwardMobility primitively planned to motorboat a 5G BlackBerry-branded smartphone successful 2021, but quality connected the instrumentality has been incredibly airy since the archetypal announcement, made successful August 2020.
2021 came and went without a phone, and without overmuch successful the mode of quality from the manufacturer. But successful its station published connected 6 January, it noted that 2021 was an incredibly challenging year, and truthful delays - sadly - were unavoidable.
Given however galore big-name manufacturers person struggled with delays launching fashionable mainstream products, it's nary astonishment that a caller startup attempting to physique its archetypal instrumentality suffered too.
While we've inactive not seen immoderate sneak peaks oregon images of the phone, the institution states it's inactive readying to bring an "ultra-secure 5G endeavor smartphone" with a keyboard, to market.
Like those launched nether TCL betwixt 2016 and 2018, it's astir surely going to beryllium an Android telephone and 1 that doesn't request the aged BlackBerry services successful bid to simply function. Apart from that, small is known oregon tin beryllium guessed at.
Let's anticipation - for the involvement of the remaining BlackBerry fans - that 2022 is simply a kinder twelvemonth to OnwardMobility, if lone truthful we tin yet get a glimpse of this long-awaited rebirth.
Writing by Cam Bunton. Originally published connected 7 January 2022.