Android-Powered BlackBerry Venice QWERTY Slider Poses For Its Closeup

It interesting how the tides turn when a company is faced with irrelevancy in the smartphone market. BlackBerry once pitched the BlackBerry 10 operating system as a competent rival to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, but instead has been “thanked” with sub 1 percent market share in the global smartphone market. BlackBerry was one at the top of the smartphone heap pre-iPhone, but now it has been reduced to an also-ran.

So what is BlackBerry to do in order to regain its footing in the smartphone market? The company is embracing the world’s number one mobile operating system: Android. But since everyone and their grandma (with the exception of Apple) produces Android-based smartphones, BlackBerry needs more than just another me-too smartphone. Thankfully, the latest images of the company’s upcoming Venice smartphone show that Blackberry might be onto something.

(Image Source: Tinhte)

In what are the best images we’ve seen yet of the Venice, we get clear shots of the device in the open (keyboard exposed) and closed positions. When the Venice’s keyboard is extended, you are given access to a rather roomy physical keyboard that will not only appease diehard BlackBerry fanatics, but also Android users that haven’t had access to a smartphone with a dedicated keyboard for years. And the Venice’s keyboard is definitely a better solution than Samsung’s awful-looking, mid-2000s looking Keyboard Cover attachment for the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5.

The images also show a top-mounted SIM slot and microSD slot, which means that the power button has now been relocated to the side of the device. You can clearly see the optically-stabilized 18MP camera on the rear of the device that is paired with a dual LED flash setup and front-mounted speakers. You’ll also notice what looks to be a pretty stock-looking version of Android 5.x Lollipop.

(Image Source: Tinhte)

As for the Venice’s other specs, the device is said to feature a 5.4-inch QHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with 3GB of RAM, and a 5MP front-facing camera.

Notorious mobile device leaker Evan Blass reported earlier this month that the Venice will hit all four major U.S. wireless carriers in November. With the unloved BlackBerry OS 10 now jettisoned, will Blackberry now have a fighting chance to regain relevance in the smartphone market? Only time will tell.