BlackBerry Venice Release Date, Specs: BlackBerry's Sliding Android Lollipop Smartphone Coming to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon

By Jomar Endriga
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The upcoming Android-powered BlackBerry Venice smartphone is spied in new leaked photos.  Android Authority

BlackBerry's Android-powered slider smartphone has been the subject of several leaks in the past months. Now, a set of newly leaked images of the Canadian company's BlackBerry Venice handset has once again made the rounds online.

The new photos, shared by Android Authority, appear to be early hands-on images of the device. They show the model's chassis design, user interface, as well as other features. Interestingly, they also provide hints on how BlackBerry plans to modify Google's Android OS.

Based on some of the pictures (see above), it seems that the device maker decided to utilize a nearly stock version of Android Lollipop for the BlackBerry Venice. The basic features of Google's mobile OS are still there, but there is a handful of additions. Apart from some pre-installed third-party apps, shortcuts and special widgets for BlackBerry's services are also evident.

Some of the most notable interface highlights include keyboard shortcuts for carrying out quick tasks, software shortcuts that allow users to swipe up from the home button, quick messages, and local search.

Judging from the photos, BlackBerry Venice users will be able to customize home screen communication shortcuts for writing emails, BBM messages, SMS, email contacts and text contacts. Adding shortcuts for scheduling BBM meetings, events, and accessing 'Today's agenda' are possible. Furthermore, a recent apps menu is also present where the size of the cards change automatically depending on how often they are used.  

The BlackBerry Venice's boot animation is not shown, but it will reportedly show Google's green Android mascot holding a shield to underscore the handset's additional focus on security.

This latest batch of photos fall right in line with earlier leaks showing the model's sliding physical QWERTY keyboard and slightly curved screen. In terms of specifications, the BlackBerry Venice has been reported to sport a 5.4-inch display with QHD resolution and a six-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset clocked at 1.8GHz with 3GB of RAM. An 18-megapixel camera with dual LED flash is also said to be furnished at the back.

The smartphone's slide-out keyboard, which is one of its most notable features, offers BlackBerry's signature angled, trapezoid-shaped buttons. The subtle separation that the peaks create are apparently intended to ensure that the keys can be hit easily.

Although the Canadian device maker has yet to share anything official, the high-end BlackBerry Venice Android handset is already expected to be launched at some point in November on all four major U.S. carriers namely AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.    

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