Blackberry’s famous qwerty keyboard is back, resurrected by TCL at MWC 2017
If you miss the feel of a proper real-life keyboard rather than a touchscreen, there's a new phone for you.
Blackberry has resurrected its much-loved qwerty keyboard in its latest phone, the KeyOne.
Hang on… didn't Blackberry say it was ditching making smartphones altogether? Yes it did. After models like the Priv fell flat, failing to reignite past glories of yesteryear, the Canadian company instead chose to license the brand name at the end of last year.
Enter China's TCL and the KeyOne, an Android-based smartphone combining what was once Blackberry's USP and a 5.5 inch touchscreen.
Read more: Snake on a phone: Nokia is resurrecting the 3310
It also boasts interesting fresh features such as being able to run two apps at the same time on the 4.5 inch screen and fingerprint technology in the spacebar, bringing it into the modern age. It also has the biggest ever battery life of any Blackberry, and is claiming a 50 per cent charge in around 36 minutes. And it's yours for £499 without a contract from April.
Blackberry itself is now sticking purely with developing its software, largely focused on security and which is incorporated in the KeyOne.
"The new BlackBerry portfolio has a chance of success, because few companies now offer BlackBerry-style design and features, and the productivity-focused smartphone segment is underserved. But TCL must be careful not to price itself out of its target segment," said IHS Markit's Ian Fogg.
It's not the only device maker of yore BI (before iPhone) making a comeback either.
Read more: Apple stock just got a major upgrade from Goldman Sachs (it's very confident about the iPhone 8)
A new Nokia is due to be unveiled by another Chinese manufacturer, HMD, which inked a similar brand licensing deal with the Finnish firm last year, and has already released a $26 feature phone and its first smartphone under the Nokia brand name.
It's expected to bring back features beloved of the 3310 model (say hello to Snake again) with a more modern twist at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today.
Other smartphone makers are also set to unveil their newest devices, including Samsung, Huawei and HTC.