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TCL has announced that it is giving the BlackBerry KEY2 a fresh coat of paint. This time, it’s going to be available in red. It’s actually being called the BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition.
The shade of red on this BlackBerry KEY2 seems to be a bit of a darker red then what is available on the KEY2 LE. It also covers the front of the device, instead of just being the frame. The keyboard is still black, but the space between the keys is red, and it looks really slick.
This is the same BlackBerry KEY2 that the company announced last Spring, with just a couple of differences besides the color. There is also 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the original KEY2 had an option for 128GB of storage, but that was only in a few regions. Otherwise, it is still made of Series 7 Aluminum, making it a pretty sturdy smartphone. It also has that soft-touch material on the back, which makes it much easier to hold onto, versus other smartphones on the market today.
The KEY2 still sports a 4.5-inch 1620×1080 resolution display, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset. There is also a 3500mAh capacity battery inside, that is going to keep the KEY2 running all-day long and then some. It runs a stock version of Android Oreo and will get updated to Android Pie in the very near future. This means that there is support for things like Google Assistant and Google Lens.
BlackBerry’s iconic physical QWERTY keyboard is on the KEY2, which makes it much easier to type out emails and replies to messages, versus a software keyboard. The KEY2 also uses each of these keys as a shortcut, which the user is able to customize to their liking. Making it simpler to open apps like Facebook and Twitter. Finally, the KEY2 also has the Convenience Key on the side, which can be mapped to any app. Allowing you to quickly open the camera, or your email app, or really anything else you might want to open up.
TCL and BlackBerry Mobile do routinely release new colors for its flagship smartphones, likely in an effort to sell a few more devices before the new flagship comes out. If TCL holds up to its schedule from the past two years, the KEY3 should be released in a couple of months time. Though, there haven’t been many leaks for it just yet, so it may be a bit further down the road. But don’t be surprised if the KEY3 does come out shortly after this Red Edition of the BlackBerry KEY2 comes out.
As far as pricing and availability goes, TCL says that the BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition is going to be available in select markets in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle Ease. With prices of $749/£699/€779 respectively. TCL also notes that those that buy this new Red Edition of the KEY2 will also get a special edition set of red BlackBerry-branded earbuds.
The BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition is available for pre-order across Europe through the BlackBerry Mobile website.
