BlackBerry is holding its BlackBerry Live 2013 event in Orlando and BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins announced the BlackBerry Q5.
When Thorsten Heins took to the stage to announce the company's newest smartphone, he was very enthusiastic about the device. He even proclaimed that the smartphone will be a "big hit for its target audience," according to Engadget. The BlackBerry Q5 is a budget BlackBerry 10 smartphone that will be available in four colors –– black, white, red, and pink –– and also include the physical QWERTY keyboard the company is famous for.
Mr. Heins' enthusiasm for the BlackBerry Q5 is also evident in BlackBerry's just released press release announcing the BlackBerry Q5:
"BlackBerry is excited to bring a new BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone, the BlackBerry Q5, to our customers in selected markets around world," said Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of BlackBerry, in the release. "The BlackBerry Q5 gives you the best of everything with its cutting-edge BlackBerry 10 functionality and a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is for youthful fans that are passionate, confident and bold, and it makes it easy for them to have fun, create, share and stay connected."
The BlackBerry Q5 will feature a 3.1-inch 326 ppi (pixels per inch) 720 x 720 TFT capacitive touchscreen display, physical QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry 10.1 OS, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, microSD expansion slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AND support for HSDPA and HSUPA networks. BlackBerry didn't reveal any additional specs for the BlackBerry Q5 at its unveiling.
BlackBerry has said that it is targeting the BlackBerry Q5 as a low-cost BlackBerry 10 smartphone for emerging markets. The BlackBerry Q5 smartphone will be available in selected markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia (including the Asia Pacific region), and Latin America, with expected availability beginning in July. It is unclear if BlackBerry will be bringing the BlackBerry Q5 to the U.S., but it seems almost inevitable that the company will try and recreate the success of its previous BlackBerry Curve line.
