Last year,BlackBerrydecided not to launch a brand new phone atMobile World Congress, and the same happened this year. But that doesn’t mean the company didn’t unveil a little something extra to please its fans and to give it one more go at attempting to lure previous BlackBerry users back into the fan club.
Unlike the Atomic Red version of theplastic Key2 LE,thepremium Key2doesn’t have any hints of navy blue anywhere, and this works in its favour. The bright red anodised aluminium frame strikes a more visible contrast against the deep black of the Key2’s rear and buttons.
What’s more, with the frets between the rows of keys on the black model being larger than on the LE, it pops much more when you look at the front.
This red colouring doesn’t extend to the grippy panel on the back, probably wisely, to ensure it doesn’t get a little “too” red. This textured rear cover stays black, with the matte black logo, just like the silver and black models.
Similarly, the power, volume and Convenience keys are black, to add that little extra contrast on the right side of the phone.
The four row keyboard is the same Bold-inspired QWERTY with its large square keys, the space bar with built-in fingerprint sensor and the touch sensitive surface which allows you to swipe across it to scroll through lists, and between screens in the UI.
Inside it’s much the same. There’s no bump in battery or processing power, but you do get it with the highest storage capacity and RAM. That’s to say, it’s 6GB RAM plus 128GB internal storage. If you feel that’s not enough, there’s also the ability to expand storage using a microSD card.
As well as a hardware colouring refresh, BlackBerry is using the Red Edition Key2 as a platform to launch its redesign Hub Suite of apps. They have much the same features as before, but with a much more modern and clean design.
Thankfully, you don’t need a red Key2 to get that. It’s a software update coming to all users very soon. In fact, Insider Program members already have it as a beta preview.
Perhaps the one detail that’ll dissuade some buyers is the price. While BlackBerry undoubtedly has an appeal with some buyers who still crave that physical click-able keyboard, the £699 price tag for a device with a decidedly mid-range Snapdragon 660 processor and dual camera is steep.
