Leaked BlackBerry Vienna sports all-metal design, keyboard, Android

Leaked BlackBerry Vienna sports all-metal design, keyboard, Android:-

BlackBerry chief executive John Chen said in a Fox Business News interview that the company has a “range of products” coming after the BlackBerry Priv, and the first one may have been leaked earlier today.

CrackBerry managed to get a hold of a few press snaps of the codenamed BlackBerry Vienna, which sports an always-present physical keyboard in favor of the retractable keyboard found on the Priv.

It looks like BlackBerry will add a brushed metal finish to the smartphone, available in silver, black, dark blue, dark green, and red. Vienna may use capacitive buttons instead of software buttons found on the Priv. A front-facing mono speaker sits at the top of the phone, alongside a front-facing camera. Volume and power buttons are located on the right side of the device, and on the other side a MicroSD or SIM card slot

We don’t know the megapixel size of Vienna’s camera, but the sensor looks smaller than the 18-megapixel OIS camera on the Priv. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it downgraded to an 8-megapixel or 13-megapixel sensor, similar to most mid-range Android devices.

The BlackBerry Priv is the flagship smartphone for the company, so we suspect the Vienna will fit below as a mid-range option for customers that want a physical keyboard but don’t want to pay $700. John Chen confirmed in the FBN interview that the roadmap for BlackBerry will be centered on Android, so we suspect the Vienna will run Android 5.1 Lollipop or Android 6.0 Marshmallow, depending on its release date.

BlackBerry’s security suite will most likely be available on the Vienna, as it is one of the major selling points for choosing BlackBerry over other Android providers. Since all of the apps have been added to Google Play already, it shouldn’t be hard for BlackBerry to add support for Vienna.

The dimensions, specs, price, and release date remain a mystery, but we will continue to update this post with any updates.

Read more: Digitized Trends 

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Watchphones are coming: Google updates Android Wear with cellular connectivity

Watchphones are coming: Google updates Android Wear with cellular connectivity:-

The Android Wear smartwatch platform continues to evolve, and in the latest update from Google, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more watch phones coming soon. The new version adds support for cellular connectivity to Android Wear, paving the way for the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition to launch, and presumably more after it.

Announced on Google’s blog, the update adds a third way of connecting your smartwatch to the outside world, following Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but only if your watch has a SIM card slot. We’ll save you the bother of checking: It hasn’t. The first watch will be LG’s new Urbane, and that’s not on sale just yet. Once it’s here, the humble Android Wear smartwatch will become a fully fledged phone on your wrist.

It’ll allow the watch to be used without a paired phone — although it sounds like it’ll need to be setup using a phone initially, just like Samsung’s Gear S — or when it’s out of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth range. The watch will automatically swap over to it’s own SIM, and will make and receive calls, send messages, and run apps without any outside help. It’s the next stage on from utilizing the internal memory for music, and the GPS chip for location, when out for a run without your phone.

The slight drawback is the watch will need its own SIM, and therefore its own monthly plan. It’s not certain how this will work yet, but it’s possible the watch’s connection will be tied into your phone’s data and call allowance, ensuring you aren’t paying for two or more independent connections.

We’ll know more about the costs involved in Android Wear watchphone ownership when the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition goes on sale, which should happen in the near future. Both AT&T and Verizon will be stocking the device, according to Google. International buyers will have the chance to buy an LTE Watch Urbane in the future.

Read more: Digitized Trends 

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