Android-powered BlackBerry Priv in UAE in early January

Dubai - Priv targets a certain segment that BlackBerry sees hasn't been addressed before.

BlackBerry continues to enjoy a loyal following in the UAE. And it may be about to get better with its first-ever mobile device based on Alphabet's Google Android operating system.
The Canadian technology company announced that its much-anticipated Priv smartphone will be rolled out in the UAE in early January and in Saudi Arabia in the middle of the month, with a top official in the region guaranteeing users the "best of many worlds".
A top official for the company in the region said that the Priv targets a certain segment that BlackBerry sees hasn't been addressed before: a combination of top-of-the-line security and privacy, the latest technology and the value of its trademark keyboard - all in a platform widely used in today's mobile world.
"The Priv gives the best of everything - users don't have to go too far to enjoy the gold standard in security in the Google ecosystem", Mike Al Mefleh, product management director for the Middle East at BlackBerry, told Khaleej Times in an interview on Sunday.
Reviews for the Priv - which refer to "privilege" and "privacy" - have been positive, and it has reflected in BlackBerry's shares. The company on Friday reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue gain in over two years and a smaller-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss - an indication its turnaround efforts may be gaining traction.
Quarterly revenue rose 12 per cent from the previous period, while software revenue more than doubled to $162 million from a year earlier.
The BlackBerry Priv comes with a sliding keyboard - reminiscent of 2010's BlackBerry Torch - and a 5.4-inch screen curved across both sides, akin to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. It was teased at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March, although then it was a prototype running on the BlackBerry 10 OS. Curiously, the Galaxy S6 Edge was also unveiled at the same event.
The device was released on November 6. At present, it is officially available in France, Germany, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, the UK, the US, Vietnam and its home turf of Canada.
BlackBerry continues to enjoy the support of governments and corporates, thanks to its "legendary" security services. Al Mefleh says that the company saw the security risks involved in mobile devices, and the Priv was specifically developed to capitalise on this gap in the industry. "The Priv is 100 per cent Android, but everything people expect from BlackBerry is in it," he said.
Contrary to common belief, this is not the first time BlackBerry and Google have collaborated with each other; the former has, in fact, for a long time supported Android. The most notable example is Knox, an end-to-end security solution BlackBerry has worked together with Samsung.
Futhermore, BlackBerry is also not new to porting its expertise to rivals. Its widely-used BlackBerry Messenger was made available to the Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms last year.
And the Priv is the "next step" in the relationship between BlackBerry and Android, Al Mefleh stressed.
"Android is the next thing for BlackBerry," he said. "We used this to build and advance our security offerings even further."
The Priv is securely encrypted and comes preloaded with the exclusive Android app DTEK, which monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users can know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk.
Asked if another Android-based device from BlackBerry is in the works, Al Mefleh said that "nothing is being discussed yet, but an announcement will be made in due time".
"We are a solution company, and everything we build is based on a foundation that has security, privacy and productivity," he said. "We would not have brought Android to a BlackBerry device if we didn't feel we could do it securely; the Priv was built for success."
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com