BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) announced today that customers can start pre-ordering its long awaited PRIV phone today. The Android powered device is BlackBerry’s latest smartphone to try to capture some market share that it had lost to Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics.
The pre-order is now available for customers in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom through ShopBlackBerry as well as mobile carriers.
The price for Canadian customers is $899 CDN, $699 USD for U.S. customers and £559 Incl. VAT for customers in the United Kingdom. For all other countries, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) said they will be updated in real time about their local availability. Customers in other countries are urged to register for updates at BlackBerry.com/PrivacyOn.
Can the PRIV save BlackBerry?
A lot of people are wondering if the PRIV will help BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) turn around and capture market share. That remains to be seen, there’s definitely low expectations from many however others speculate that because the new smartphone is powered by Android and because Android has the biggest market share, last I checked it was about or a little more than 80%, the PRIV would do well.
Granted that people will want the device because it’s going to be the most secure Android phone ever and that they can now enjoy the many apps enjoyed by the rest of the Android community around the globe. Add to that the well designed QWERTY keyboard that many love to have. I think these are good enough reasons for the PRIV to carry hope for all of BlackBerry fans.
The PRIV could actually be a success for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), basically putting together the very popular Android with the loved QWERTY keyboard protected by the world renowned BlackBerry mobile security makes the PRIV a phone to reckon with and sought after.
 announced today that customers can start pre-ordering its long awaited PRIV phone today. The Android powered PRIV is BlackBerry){kind=link}