The new full touchscreen BlackBerry Motion smartphone, will not be released in Australia according to TCL executives meeting in Singapore.
The BlackBerry Motion runs Google’s Android operating system, has a 5.5-inch full high definition display and fingerprint sensor. It also comes loaded with all of BlackBerry’s security apps.
Instead, the local Alcatel operation will roll out the new Black Blackberry Key One which is delivering “excellent” sell in sales to carriers in Europe and the USA.
Last year, TCL signed a brand licensing deal with BlackBerry to use the company’s name for new smartphones, while the Canadian firm focused on software.
The device which will be available via JB Hi Fi has 4GB of RAM from 3GB, and 64GB of storage from 32GB on the original KeyOne.
The BlackBerry Motion features a 5½-inch screen but not the once-popular chicklet keyboard, the company revealed at GITEX Technology Week in Dubai.
The big queastion now is whether the elimination of the BlackBerry keyboard is an admission of defeat 10 years after Steve Jobs revealed the very first iPhone which ate into Blackberry sales.
The Motion has a 1080p display, 32GB of internal storage, 4GB of RAM, a fingerprint reader, a 12 megapixel camera — and, according to TCL, up to 32 hours of battery life.
The Motion is aimed toward professional users, and is loaded with BlackBerry’s signature business and security-oriented apps.
TCL said that it also has a huge battery that will offer over 32 hours of mixed use. It will also have space for two SIM cards. At this stage the device will only be available in the Middle East.
